Found
by Jess Marylin
Summary: After the events of Missing, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Flash have gone on with their lives. But a new threat is on the horizon, extremely lethal and it will stop at nothing to get what it wants. Bruce Wayne. Dead. On hiatus until I finish Vencuyan.
1. Dread

_Justice League and Court of Owls does not belong to me. _

_Here it is! The sequel to Missing! Hope ya'll like it!  
_

_Be sure to check out Cho's picture on my profile!  
_

* * *

_**"Beware the Court of Owls, that watches all the time**_

_**Ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch, behind granite and lime**_

_**They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed**_

_**Speak not a whispered word of them, or they'll send the Talon for your head."**_

_**- Gotham Nursery Rhyme**_

"_Breaking news: Richard Grayson, former ward of billionaire Bruce Wayne was seen last night at the Hotel Gotham, proposing to long time girlfriend Barbara Gordon. No mention yet of when the wedding will be._

"_Also, today Bruce Wayne and his wife, Diana Prince-Wayne, announced the birth of their son, Nathan James Wayne. The baby was born two days ago, February 19th, at Wayne Manor at 9:45 in the morning. February 19th is also Mr. Wayne's birthday._" As the reporter spoke, an image of the couple with their newborn was pasted to the screen.

The girl looked up from the weapon that she was cleaning. A small smile lit her face as she noticed the loving way that the new parents were gazing at their son. _That baby is very lucky. __What I wouldn't give to have Father look at me like that._ But nothing could be done about it, unless her father changed. _That isn't likely to happen anytime soon, though._

Ignoring the the reporters' happy chatter and gossip about the two stories, she examined the weapon in her lap. A, long, thin sword with razor-sharp edges. It was one of the very few presents that her father had really given her. This particular one hadn't been given out of love. To him, she was a much a tool as the sword in her lap. A means to an end, and nothing more.

At least, that's what it felt like to her.

All of her life had come to this. Every moment of every single day, since she was five years old, had been dedicated to preparation for this time. She was a weapon. She was deadly, and she knew it.

She was hardly aware of the reporter's change in stories until she heard the sound of children's laughter. She looked up to see that the screen was showing images of Gotham City Park, shiny and brand new. _It wasn't like that the last time I was in Gotham._ The last time she'd been in this city, she'd been ten and the old park had been abandoned, filled with long-rusted playing equipment. Even then, when there had been no chance of anyone seeing her, she'd been forbidden to play. That particular order had more to do with the Court than it had to do with her father. _Father may not be a loving man, but he's not completely heartless._

On more than one occasion, the man _had_ reached out to her in some way. Usually small, untraceable ways. A bit of extra rations here, an extra roll of bandages there. Things she knew could have only come from him. Those items had also been sorely needed at the time of their arrival, which meant that he was keeping tabs on her. Usually, that kind of thing was frowned upon by the Court. Cho was only allowed to see her father whenever he needed extra protection, usually whenever he was on another mission. Like the one he'd be undertaking in Gotham soon enough.

Change was coming to Gotham. The criminal element was declining and members of Gotham City's elite, like this Bruce Wayne and his wife, were working together to make Gotham a better place. And the Court wasn't happy with the movement. They'd controlled Gotham from behind the scenes for centuries, since it's beginning, and change not brought on by them was one thing they didn't want. If the city were to be changed for the better, then it would very likely slip through their fingers and out of their control. Personally Cho thought that was for the best, but she wasn't about to voice her opinion. The Court practically owned her and would not hesitate to kill her or turn her into one of their undead Talons if she put even one toe out of line. Which was why she'd followed their instructions completely to the letter. Thankfully, they hadn't ordered her to kill anyone. Yet. _That might have to do with the fact that I was a child. But now that I'm sixteen..._

The very thought sent chills up through Cho's spine. She'd been forced to watch the Talon ritual many times. It was nothing short of horrific and she still frequently suffered from nightmares brought on by those memories. She'd been constantly warned that the same fate awaited her, one day.

As the reporter, a woman by the last name of Gleeson, droned on, Cho's mind went back to her mission. Her father and several other members of the Court's highest parliament would be infiltrating Gotham's society, pretending to be new members of it's elite. She and several 'apprentices', all as deadly but not as gifted as she was, would be working behind the scenes to ensure that the higher ranking members wouldn't come across any unforeseen complications. 'Complications' meaning people like the Batman. _I hope that I don't have to fight him myself. _Knowing her luck, Cho would probably have to. _And it _will_ be a fight to the death, that's for certain._ That thought filled her with dread.

* * *

Aside from the muggers that Huntress and Black Canary had stopped just an hour ago, all was quiet in Gotham. That was extremely rare for this city, given that it was not even midnight. For the hundredth time that night, Batman found himself yawning. Between newborn Nathan waking up every two hours on the dot, Question calling periodically for details on a case, and a board meeting at an unseemly hour in the morning, Bruce had been lucky to grab those precious three hours of sleep. Already, even though it wasn't late at all for him, he was already thinking about calling it a night.

Batman moved to activate his comlink to call Robin and let him know to head back when he remembered that the boy, young man actually, was already back at the mansion. _I must be extremely exhausted if I've forgotten about that._

Seven and a half months ago, shortly after Diana had found out that she was pregnant, the Joker had kidnapped Tim and tortured him. The memories were still painfully clear to Bruce, as was Tim's condition. Thankfully, the young man was nowhere near what he'd been when the Joker and Harley had finished with him, thanks to Leslie Thompkins, but he'd never be the same again. Neither would Bruce, for that matter. _If it hadn't been for Diana..._

During Tim's recovery, Diana had been Bruce's rock. She had constantly been there for him, getting him to talk about it especially when he hadn't wanted to, even when she'd been suffering from the side effects of her pregnancy. He was grateful for her stubbornness. If Diana hadn't pushed him, he was sure that he would have pushed her and everyone else away again. As it was, he and Dick had had one heck of an argument about the incident and currently weren't on speaking terms. The fact that his former charge had proposed to Barbara was still a shocker to him. _I thought they broke up _long_ ago._

Batman still blamed himself for what had happened to Tim and knowing that the Joker had figured out his identity scared him. Although the Joker himself had perished by Tim's hand, Harley's body hadn't been found. Which meant that she was still out there, somewhere. _What if she talks? What if she tells someone who I am?_ The very image of his family, baby Nathan especially, in danger made him clench his fists in anger and frustration. The very fact that he hadn't found any trace of Quinn whatsoever was unnerving.

Suddenly the _need_ to be with Diana, to hold her and their son, became almost unbearable. _There's nothing going on out here. Might as well call it a night and go home. Better make sure that they're okay. And I haven't seen Tim all day, either._

Just as he'd made up his mind, the floodlight atop the police station lit up, shining his symbol into the clouds. _Wonderful._ He groaned to himself, rolling his eyes.

"I've got it, Batman."

He whipped around, relaxing when he saw that it was just Batgirl. Barbara smirked at him, "You're losing your touch, old man. Usually, you would have heard me a mile away."

He rolled his eyes, but otherwise ignored her jibing, "You are _not_ patrolling on your own, Barb."

Her blue eyes softened as she picked up on what he hadn't said. _You're not patrolling on your own like Tim did on _that_ night._ She put her yellow-gloved hands on her hips, her expression quickly changing to stern, "And Diana would have a cow if she knew that _you_ have been going solo, Bruce."

"Batgirl," he warned in a low growl.

She rolled her blue eyes, "Fine. Relax, Batman. I wasn't even thinking about going on my own, okay? I've already called Zatanna. She'll meet me after I talk with Dad."

Bruce nodded, satisfied with her answer. He'd begun to tell her to call him if the situation ended up being more than the two of them could handle, but, to his chagrin, he was interrupted by yet another yawn.

Batgirl's eyes turned concerned, "Have you gotten _any_ sleep at all, Bruce?"

"A few hours."

She shook her head, giving an exasperated sigh, "You'd think getting married and having a kid would mellow you out. You've hardly changed a bit. Go home and get some sleep. I'm sure us girls can handle Gotham for one night."

"You will call-"

"Call you if we need your help?" Barb smirked, ignoring the glare he sent her way, "Of course." With that, she headed to the edge of the roof, pulling her grappling gun out of her belt, "Night, Bruce."

And she was gone. _Still louder than Artie though._ Thoughts like that would sneak up on him out of nowhere. Especially since he'd held his son for the first time only yesterday, Bruce would find himself wondering how she and her family were doing. How she was handling the role of Wonder Girl, if Tommy was still as inquisitive as ever. And if Iris and Jai were doing alright. There were times when he'd also wonder how much time had passed for them. Impulse had made it clear that their two dimensions ran on completely different timelines. And Bruce was painfully aware that the kids' timeline was much faster than his own.

Batman shook his head, forcing himself to focus. Although he hated it, having the Watchtower teleport him home was probably the best idea at the moment, considering how dead tired he was. He'd call Batgirl and have her bring the car back to the mansion once she was finished for the night. Bruce looked down over the roof edge, doing one more quick sweep of the area to make sure that no criminals were about in the immediate vicinity. Not a thing. However, he couldn't shake the foreboding feeling that this was just the calm before the storm.

* * *

_Please R&R._


	2. Shame

_Justice League and the Court of Owls does not belong to me. Just Cho & Company._

_Big thanks to FrostLily11, mbembet, Cajun Strong Man 2, ieatcookies, and Janizary for reviewing!  
_

* * *

It had only been one day since Flash had proposed to Linda and his head was still spinning. He _still_ couldn't believe that she'd said _yes_.

That wasn't the only thing on his mind though. Dick had also proposed to Barbara, which he'd known about. Ever since Bats had introduced Nightwing to Flash, the two young men had been close friends. They'd both planned to propose to their girls on the same day and at the same time, mainly because Wally was afraid that he'd chicken out. Dick had laughed when he'd voiced the thought, but had readily agreed that it was a good idea.

Flash chuckled at the thought, ignoring the look that Fire sent his way. The day after his first date with Linda, three years ago, he'd made sure to find Fire and explain to her that it wasn't going to work between them. She hadn't taken it very well at all. It was still pretty awkward between the two of them. In fact, this was the first time since then that they'd been forced to work together.

_What was Bats _thinking_, scheduling us for monitor duty together?_ There was nothing he could do about that now. Just five minutes left before he could zip out of there. And he knew _exactly_ where he was going to zip to. _I don't care that Bats' glares kill, he's _not_ putting me through this again._

That, and he _really_ wanted to see the baby. Diana had called him about two hours after Nathan had been born and he would have run all the way to Gotham that morning had Di not _insisted_ that Bruce be the first one to see the baby. _Either way, Bats isn't going to be happy to see me in his 'Cave without his 'permission'._

He'd known the guy since he was nineteen, since the Invasion that started the League, and the man was still as closed off as ever. Well, actually, that wasn't really true anymore. Bruce still had his quirks, but he was more open than he'd been the first time Wally had laid eyes on him. Usually only a little bit around the Founders but more so around Diana and Clark. Flash was surprised to find that he'd recently been added to that inner circle too. He had a sneaking suspicion that it had to do with their mission to the ex-Lords' universe three years ago.

_It seems like just yesterday since we left. I wonder how they're all doing? Well, they haven't shown up here again which means that Lord Superman is still in the Phantom Zone._ That thought offered him some amount of comfort. But the fact that he didn't know anything about what was happening in Iris, Jai, and Artie's dimension was _killing_ him. _I bet they feel the same way about us too._

Flash looked up at the clock just as the hour hand struck ten. His shift was officially over. _Thank goodness._ Without even a second glance at Fire, he tore out of the monitor womb and straight toward the teleportation room.

"Where to this time, Flash?" Mr. Terrific was manning the teleporters at this time. Even though J'onn had rejoined the League when Darkseid and Luthor had vanished four years ago, the Martian had only come back as a part-timer. Wally had been beyond surprised to find that J'onn had married in his sabbatical from the League. But, after meeting Mrs. J'onzz, he couldn't help but think that the two made a great pair. J'onn was one of his closest friends and Wally had never seen the Martian so happy.

"Gotham, Mr. T."

"Does Batman know that you're coming?"

"No, but Wonder Woman does." In fact, halfway through his shift with Fire, Flash had called Diana to make sure that it was okay for him to show up. He wasn't about to bother asking Bats, but he figured if the man's wife knew about it, she'd be able to keep Bruce from blowing up on him.

Mr. Terrific looked more than a little worried, "Your funeral."

Flash had to laugh at that. The teleporter lit up and he found himself in the 'Cave. It had taken Bruce a _long_ time to trust Mr. T with the location of his base. It wasn't even in the Watchtower's computer database.

"Hi Wally," Wonder Woman called softly from the direction of the computer. Even though she was being quiet, probably trying not to wake the baby in her arms, he could hear her loud and clear. Like he'd mentioned to Bats many times since he'd first been in the BatCave, the acoustics down here were _very_ good. Good enough to get a band together. Of course, Batman had just responded with a glare. _I _still_ think it's a good idea, though. Bats has the growling down pat._

With an amused smirk, he zipped over to the computer chair that Diana was sitting in, baby Nathan curled up in her arms. "Hey, Di. How ya feeling? Can I hold him?"

She laughed and offered him the little boy, "I'm fine, Wally. Watch his head."

"I know my way around babies, Diana. I helped my aunt and uncle with their twins when they were this small." He pulled the little guy close to him, "Man, he looks more like Bats than Tommy does."

"His eyes are brown though. Like Bruce's mother's."

"What are you doing here, West?" Bruce's voice snapped from the teleporter pad.

Wally turned around, but Diana was faster. She was in Bruce's arms before the Scarlet Speedster could even respond. The couple kissed, but Bats pulled away quickly. If there was one thing that Bruce _hated_, it was having an audience.

"You know why I'm here, _Wayne_. What were you thinking, teaming me up with Fire like that? You _do_ realize that I'm engaged to Linda now, right?" Wally had never been _that_ mad in a long time. It was taking a _lot_ of self-control to keep his voice calm. The last thing he wanted to do was scare little Nathan, who was still fast asleep.

"Since when?" Diana asked. From the look of it, Batman hadn't heard about that either.

"You mean Dick didn't tell you?" That in itself was so unnerving that it completely deflated his anger. _I thought Bruce was like a father to Dick. Surely Dick would have told Bruce that his best friend's engaged now, right?_

Bats pushed his cowl back, looking uncomfortable as he and Diana joined Flash at the computer console, "Richard hasn't spoken to me in over seven months, Wally."

"And why not? I thought he idolized you?"

Bruce sat at the console with a sigh, resting his arms on the armrests of his chair. Diana took her place in the chair next to his. "Because he blames me for what happened to Robin." Little Nathan started whimpering at the sound of his father's voice and Bats lifted his arms to take the baby from Wally. Bruce cradled his son to his chest, kissing the baby's head before meeting Flash's gaze, "And he's right."

"It wasn't your fault, Bruce. You didn't know what was going to happen," Diana interrupted, laying her hand on her husband's arm, trying to comfort him. And Wally was at a complete loss. He'd _never_ seen Batman like this before. Bruce always seemed so _sure_ of himself.

_Come to think of it, though, I haven't seen much of him at all since the Joker kidnapped Tim._ Batman had hung around Gotham a lot more since then, but most of the Leaguers, the ones who knew his real identity, had just attributed it to Diana being pregnant. And, although that had been a huge part of it, Wally could finally see that Diana's pregnancy hadn't been the main reason why Bruce had secluded himself. _He's suffering._ And the fact that Dick was no longer talking to the man...

Bats' anguished voice broke through his thoughts, "I let Tim talk me into letting him go by himself. I _knew_ that he wasn't ready, and I _still_ put him in harm's way."

"It's not your fault, Bats," Flash objected. He'd met Tim a few times and the eighteen year old was a pretty good kid. A pretty good fighter too. Good enough to hold his own. "It's the Joker's and Quinn's. They planned it, they kidnapped him, they tortured him."

Bruce winced at the words, his arms tightening protectively around the baby in his arms, but he said nothing. So Wally kept going, "And you've been kidnapped _many_ times yourself. A few times that happened _right_ under the League's nose. I seriously don't think that _any_ of us could have prevented what happened to Tim."

Batman was about to object, but ended up trying to stifle a yawn.

"When was the last time you slept, Bats?"

"I've had enough sl-"

Diana cut her husband off, ignoring the annoyed look that he sent her way, "He's only had three hours since he, Superman, and Lantern returned last night from that mission, Wally." She turned her attention to her husband, "Why don't you go on to bed, Love? I just fed Nathan, so it will be a little while before he wakes up again."

"I'm fine, Princess."

"Bruce Thomas Wayne. Do _not_ tell me that you are fine. Go to bed. Or I _will_ carry you to bed and tie you down with my lasso, do you understand me?"

Wally couldn't help it. He started laughing, trying as hard as he could to keep quiet. Diana laughed too. But Bruce's glare was deadly as he made his way to the stairs with Nathan. Not that either of them paid much attention to it, though.

* * *

Diana finally calmed herself once Bruce disappeared upstairs. Flash also managed to calm down as he plopped into her husband's chair. She gave him an inquisitive look, "When did you propose to Linda, Wally?"

"Last night. I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys sooner, but I _really_ thought that Dick would have beat me to the punch. He's really ticked off, isn't he? I mean, he hasn't even said anything about it to _me_."

Diana nodded soberly, "Yes, he is. He's just as protective of Tim as Bruce is." She paused, expression thoughtful, "But I don't think his anger has much to do with Bruce. I think Dick is blaming himself just as much as my husband is. Neither of them are very good at expressing their feelings, especially to each other."

Wally pushed back his cowl and cocked his head, "But why would he blame himself? He was in Bludhaven. Dick wasn't there-"

"Exactly. _That's_ why the both of them are blaming themselves, why they aren't talking. Neither of them were there to save Tim in the first place. It's just easier for Dick to blame Bruce than admit that he's ashamed of himself."

Diana could see that Wally didn't approve of Dick's behavior, but, for once, the Scarlet Speedster was keeping his opinion to himself. He changed the subject, "_How_ did the Joker get his hands on Robin anyway? Bats never told us."

"Because we didn't know that until Tim started talking coherently again about a month ago." Diana stiffened at the memory. Just seeing Tim in that state and knowing that she couldn't do anything about it had very nearly broken her heart. Wally put a reassuring hand on her arm and she tried to smile at him, but found that she couldn't, "Tim told us that he'd come across a woman in trouble. He took out the two thugs that had cornered her, but that meant that his back was turned to her. All he remembered was that something hard hit him on the head."

"Quinn." Diana nodded at his statement and there was silence for a while as she watched Flash absorb the news. "Something's been bothering me."

"Hmm? What?"

"I know that Harley's missing, that Bruce and Barb couldn't find any traces of her. But when Superman asked about the Joker, Bats would only say that he was dead. And then he stormed out. What happened, Di? Did Bruce-"

Diana shook her head firmly, "No, he didn't. He would have, but Joker almost killed him. Would have, if it weren't for Tim," she added sadly.

Wally's eyes were wide, "What happened?"

"Well," Diana paused. "Wally, you can't tell this to _anyone_ else. Bruce doesn't want rumors to spread about Tim. And I agree with him."

"I won't say anything, Di. I promise."

_I promised my husband that I wouldn't tell a soul. But Wally is one of my closest friends. And... he's Bruce and Dick's friend too. Maybe he'll be able to help the two of them see sense._ "Joker had tortured Tim so much, that he turned him into... well, as Barbara put it, a mini-Joker. Called him 'JJ'." Diana shivered, remembering all to clearly what Tim had looked like when Bruce and Barbara had brought him home. "Joker stabbed Bruce in the knee and held him up for Tim to shoot."

"But Tim shot the Joker instead," Wally finished quietly, his face as white as a sheet.

* * *

_Please R&R._


	3. Nightmare

_Justice League and the Court of Owls does not belong to me. Just Cho & Company._

_Big thanks to 1Superman4Me, Tigress2929, and mbembet for reviewing!  
_

_Just to let you wonderful readers know, I'll be updating every Monday and Friday.  
_

* * *

Batgirl flipped into the shadows of the Gotham City Police Department roof. She watched carefully for a few minutes as her father, Police Commissioner Jim Gordon, talked quietly with Detective Harvey Bullock. Argued, more like it. _I still can't believe that Bullock is the Commissioner in the ex-Lord's universe._ Bruce had told her quite a bit about that little escapade. She still found the very _idea_ outrageous. Bullock was loud, arrogant, and was well-known for his occasional little white lie. That, and the guy ate like there was no tomorrow. _How on earth does Dad put up with him?_

The fact that the two men were in the middle of a heated discussion wasn't the reason why she was holding back. This would be the first time that she'd responded to the Batsignal without Batman since Tim's kidnapping. If it was just her father waiting by the floodlight, she would have been fine. But Bullock was there too and the man always knew just what to say to put her on edge. Especially with everything that was going on right now. _I will _not_ lose my temper with him. I will not._

She stepped out of the shadows, completely unnoticed by the two until she spoke up, "Something wrong, Commissioner?"

Both men jumped at the sound of her voice, her father somehow managing to look sheepish, while Bullock just looked annoyed. _I'm not too pleased to see you either, pal._

Commissioner Gordon's face immediately became concerned, "Batgirl. Where's Batman?"

Barbara almost told him that Bruce had just turned in for the night, but checked herself. _Bullock still doesn't know who we are. And I'd prefer to keep it that way._ "Busy."

Bullock didn't look too happy with her one word answer, and opened his mouth to say so. But he was silenced by a warning look from the Commissioner. Harvey irritably turned his head to survey the skyline and Jim fixed Barbara with a worried stare. Making sure that Harvey wasn't looking her way, Batgirl mouthed that everything was okay, and that she'd fill him in later. He gave her a minute nod right as Bullock fixed her with a glare. Barb resisted the urge to roll her eyes. _You think you can scare me, Detective? Bring it on._

Her father sighed and shut off the light, "Alright. About an hour ago, we got a call from a concerned citizen in Downtown, calling to report suspicious noises coming from her neighbor's penthouse. I sent a squad to investigate, but they were too late. The residents, whom we believe to be Mr. Henry Davidson and his family, were found dead at the scene." _Davidson. That's one of Bruce's board members..._ "No trace was found of the suspect. From the looks of it, the forensic teams will be investigating the scene for a few _days_."

_So much for the peace and quiet. Who was I kidding? This is Gotham. Wait a second. Believe to be?_ "You don't know who the victims are? Were the bodies that brutalized?"

Her father paled and Bullock stepped forward, in full tough guy mode, "Not in the way that you think, Batkid."

Ignoring the jibe, Barb folded her yellow-gloved arms across her chest, "What do you mean, 'not in the way that I think'?"

Harvey was about to elaborate, but her father spoke up quietly, "It'll take DNA testing to identify the victims. The suspect took their heads."

Batgirl found herself paling. Yeah, Gotham was a pretty bad place compared to most cities, and she'd seen a lot of brutality. But this took the cake. To butcher someone like that, including little kids... _If I didn't know that the Joker's dead, I would have immediately suspected him..._

"Whoever the killer is, he seems to be pretty proud of himself," Bullock cut in.

"What makes you think that?" Barbara whispered, too shocked to speak at her normal volume.

The Commissioner's hand was shaking slightly as he offered something to her, "Because he, or she, left us a note. We've already checked it for fingerprints or traces of DNA. Nothing."

Batgirl took the piece of paper and unfolded it carefully. On it, written in calligraphy that looked like it was from the Colonial days, was one short sentence.

_"You have been warned. C of O."_

_C of O? I have _no_ idea who that is. Please tell me that it's not a new supervillian._ _That's the _last_ thing we need right now._ But something just felt off about that assumption. Why would a criminal be targeting a Wayne Industries' board member? _It's quite possible that he just had a grudge against Davidson._ But why would the suspect leave this kind of note? _Unless they know who Batman really is..._ The very thought chilled her to the bone. _I think I need to call Bruce._

"Well, Batgirl?"

Barbara looked up, not even noticing that Bullock had gotten her name right, for once. "I need to show this to Batman right away. We'll get back to you as soon as we can." With that, she leapt off into the shadows, towards the alleyway that she'd parked the Batmobile in. Only vaguely was she was aware of Detective Bullock pitching a stink about her taking off with evidence.

* * *

"Huntress here," Helena Bertinelli responded. "I take it that you and Zatanna ran into trouble again, Batgirl. Need me to save your butts?"

"_No_," came the reply. "_Zee and I are headed back to the 'Cave. Is Canary still with you?_"

Huntress looked to her left, where blonde Dinah Lance was watching her, eyebrow raised, "Yes. Why?"

"_There was a multiple homicide around nine at the Davidson penthouse in Downtown Gotham. I need you two to head down there and do some investigation for me while I fill Batman in on what's going on._"

"Batgirl, you do _know_ that the two of us are better suited to busting heads than-"

"_Which is why Question is meeting you there. I've already given him all of the details that I know._"

By then, Black Canary had patched herself into the link, "You sure that's a good idea, B? You _do_ realize that Q and H have a hard time focusing around each other," she finished with a smirk.

Huntress, rolling her eyes, responded in an icy cold tone, "Oh yeah? What about you and a certain archer?"

"_Guys, this isn't time to mess around. Stay focused. Batgirl out._"

Canary rolled her eyes, "Is it just me, or is Barb becoming more and more like Batman?"

Huntress didn't see anything wrong with that.

Ten minutes later and the two women were in an alley across from the penthouse, waiting quietly for Question to show up. Dinah was leaning casually against the wall, arms folded in front of her. Huntress was pacing.

"Relax, Helena. It's not like Q hasn't been late before. He's probably lecturing some poor soul about the dangers of fluoride enhanced toothpaste and lost track of time."

"That soul wouldn't be poor if he was prepared for the likelihood of the government tracing his movements via the radioactive waves that fluoride transmits." There was just the hint of amusement in Vic's voice as he spoke up from the shadows.

Canary rolled her eyes. Huntress planted a kiss on the Question's masked cheek, "What took you so long, babe?"

"Lecturing some poor soul... Actually, I was following a suspicious character."

Helena couldn't help smirking as Dinah rolled her eyes for what seemed like the umpteenth time that night. "This is _Gotham_, Q. There are a _lot_ of suspicious characters."

Huntress' beau raised a his pointer finger, "Ah, but this one was suspiciously suspicious, Black Canary."

Canary grumbled to herself about being forced to work with lunatics, but Huntress ignored her best friend, focusing instead on figuring out her boyfriend's cryptic words, "What do you mean, babe?"

"This character seemed to be in a hurry. He, or she, was running as fast as is humanly possible _away_ from the Davidson penthouse with some kind of large sack thrown over his or her shoulder. I lost track of him, or her, in the vicinity of Park Row."

"Well, what did this 'character' look like?"

"Like a suspect," Vic stated simply before walking in the direction of the crime scene, Huntress and Canary right behind him.

Dinah linked her arm through her best friend's and leaned close enough so that Huntress could hear her whisper, "I have _no_ idea how on earth you put up with him, Helena. That man drives me crazy."

Huntress just smirked. _You have no idea_, she thought, an endearing smile on her face as she watched her man lead the way.

* * *

Tim opened his eyes and immediately _knew_ that something was wrong. He didn't recognize where he was, not that he could _see_ anything to recognize. The room or hall, or wherever he was, was pitch black, but he had the distinct feeling that he'd never been here before.

The other thing that tipped him off was that, aside from his head, he couldn't move at all. He was tied down. _Okay, keep calm. This isn't the first time that you've been bird-napped, Tim. Keep cool. And before you know it, Batman will come storming through the doors to rescue you. If this place even has doors... Either way, Bruce won't stop until I'm free, so no worries here._

A bright light interrupted his thoughts, almost blinding him. He closed his eyes tightly, before opening them carefully. Once he was certain that his eyes had adjusted to the glare, he took a quick look around. _Huh. Looks like I'm in some evil genius' science lab. Wouldn't be the first time..._

"Comfy?" An insane voice asked in what sounded like a happy cackle.

_Wait a minute. I _know_ that laugh. Oh boy, this isn't going to be good._ "Can't really say much for your hospitality, Joker." Robin turned his head, trying to locate the villian. _Where is that clown?_

"So sorry to disappoint, Birdboy." Tim almost jumped, the criminal's voice was _so_ close.

Robin turned his head to the left and the Joker's face was _right_ there. "Wouldn't want my prize bird flying off to Big Daddy Bat until _after_ I've had my fun," the psycho cackled with glee.

"The only _fun_ that you're gonna have, Joker, is being locked up in a padded cell," Tim responded.

"Oh, I don't think so, Robin." Joker's voice turned venomous as attached what looked to be some kind of huge clamps to the examining table that the young hero was currently strapped too.

Before Tim could ask what the heck was going on, he was immediately overcome with intense searing pain, the likes of which he'd never felt before. It felt like he was being torn apart from the inside out. Literally. He screamed in agony. "BRUCE! HELP, PLEASE!"

Tim snapped awake, panting and thrashing as a large man wrapped strong arms around him. For a minute, Tim thought it was the Joker, but the embrace was too familiar. As were the comforting words, "It's okay, Tim. It's just a nightmare. I've got you."

Too freaked out to care, Tim found himself crying into Bruce's chest.

* * *

_Okay, I hope the part with Huntress, Black Canary, and Question wasn't too OOC. I'm not very familiar with those three. Big thanks to FrostLily11 for all of your brainstorming. Hope you liked the little scene. :)_

_Please R&R._


	4. Compromise

_Justice League and the Court of Owls does not belong to me. Just Cho & Company._

_Big thanks to FrostLily11, 1Superman4Me, and Tigress2929 for reviewing!  
_

* * *

Bruce awakened to a keening wail. He jumped out of bed, thinking that it was Nathan crying out. He peered into the bassinet at the foot of the bed and sighed with relief. His youngest son was still sleeping like a rock. _What I wouldn't give to be able to sleep like that._ He settled back onto the bed, laying his head on the pillow._ I must have just imagined that cry._

But then he heard it again, this time followed by Tim yelling his name. In no time at all, he was practically flying to the young man's bedroom, which was just one door over from his and Diana's. Bruce's childhood bedroom.

Tim was thrashing on the bed, tangling himself in the sheets as he cried out for help. Without a moment's hesitation, Bruce flung himself at the young man, wrapping the boy securely in his arms, "It's okay, Tim. It's just a nightmare. I've got you."

The boy went limp in his arms and Bruce feared for a moment that he had passed out. He breathed another sigh of relief as Tim started crying into his chest. "Shh, it's over. He won't touch you again."

The door swung open again and Diana paused only briefly before joining the two of them. She rubbed Tim's back soothingly, "Shh. It's okay, little warrior. It was just a vision. Nothing more."

"It w-was so _r-real_," Tim whispered, voice muffled. He pulled back from Bruce and ducked his head, embarrassed. The boy furiously wiped the tears from his face, "I _want_ it to go away. I just wish that it would all go _away_."

Bruce was about to respond, but was interrupted by the sound of Wally clearing his throat in the doorway, "Uhh, Ba-" The speedster stopped, correcting himself, "Bruce, Babs and Zee are in the- I mean, they're downstairs and they've got something to tell you." _Diana must have told him about Tim's condition._ He'd asked his wife not to breathe a word of the situation to _anyone_, but he found that he was in fact relieved that Wally now knew. That didn't mean that that he was happy with the speedster for interrupting while he was trying to comfort his middle son.

"It can wait, Wally," Bruce answered, keeping the irritation at the red-clad hero's interruption out of his voice. Tim didn't need to hear his Bat voice. For some reason, that seemed to trigger his PTSD even more so than talking about what had happened.

West shook his head, "I don't think so. Barbara's as white as a sheet. It's something _bad_."

_When Tim needs me, of course. Of all the times for something to happen._ "Stay here, Wally. Help Diana calm Tim down and I'll go find out what's going on." Tim grabbed his arm, looking terrified, "It's okay, Tim. I'll be right back."

"Promise?"

"I give you my word."

* * *

Cho sat in the same position that she had the night before, this time watching the morning news as she polished her sword. The weapon didn't necessarily need it, but the Asian girl needed something to keep her hands busy. Otherwise, she'd be chewing her nails. The Court would take the evidence of that action as a sign of fear, and they'd put her through more torturous exercises to rid her of that fatal flaw. Better to be seen doing something productive.

The reporter, Gleeson again, was going on about the quintuple homicide at the home of Henry Davidson, a former Wayne Industries board member. Cho knew full well that the current Talon had been behind the murders. It had been the distraction for her own mission.

And, even though it was horrific, and unnecessary in her mind, it was the perfect distraction. She'd been able to enter Mayor Garcia's office completely undetected. And she'd managed to get her hands on every document that the Court required for the next stage of their plan. Cho hoped, knowing that she was hoping in vain, that it would not include more deaths.

_But that's been the Court's main weapon from the beginning. Murder of the ones who stand in their way._ No doubt there would be _many_ more deaths before this was all over. _I just hope that I'm not one of those with blood on my hands when this is all finished._

She shook herself, still jittery from the second half of her mission. Once another apprentice had contacted her, telling her that three superheros were investigating the Davidson penthouse, Cho had slipped into the mayor's own house. She hadn't liked intruding in another person's home like that. To her, 'home' meant 'sanctuary'. It was sacred, especially because she'd never had one herself.

But her personal beliefs were not important to the Court. Cho remembered standing at the head of Garcia's bed, her right palm mere _inches_ from the sleeping man's forehead, eyes narrowed as she'd searched his mind for anything she might have missed at his office. Another apprentice, more loyal to the Court than she was, standing where he could see her face to make sure that her eyes changed.

Cho's dark eyes shifted to creamy silver as her telepathy activated with the irritation that resurfaced with the memory. When the ability had first manifested itself, it had happened in the _worst_ way possible. She'd been ten when she'd first been summoned by the _full_ Parliament. Including her father, but she hadn't known which Court member he was at the time. She'd been so _terrified_ that she didn't even realize that she was screaming in their minds until she'd woke up. Apparently the Talon, acting his part as the Court's guard dog, had knocked her cold to stop what the Court had assumed was an attack on their minds. She hadn't had the chance to keep her telepathy a secret.

Cho's back stiffened in fear as she felt another mind approach her door, this one much colder than was normal for a human. Immediately, she calmed herself and forced her telepathy to shut off. Her eyes shifted back to their natural dark brown just as the doorknob turned. She turned her attention back to the sword in her lap.

The door opened, but she didn't dare turn to see who it was. After several minutes of watching her clean her sword, the Talon seemed satisfied that all was well. The door closed and silent footsteps retreated down the hall. Cho released the breath that she'd been holding. _What I wouldn't give to be free of all of this._

* * *

Wally hit the snooze of his alarm for the fourth time that morning. _Fourth time?_ He jolted upright. _I can't be late again. The Chief will kill me for sure._ He'd spent most of the night in Gotham, first helping Di calm Tim down from a nightmare, then trying to get Bats to tell him what the heck was going on. Batman had only managed to tell him that someone had succeeded in targeting one of his board members before Diana had come down to the 'Cave and had dragged Bruce back to bed. If the situation hadn't been so grave, Wally knew that he would have been rolling at the comical scene. As it was, he'd turned his questions to Batgirl as Zatanna teleported herself to the scene of the crime to help Question, Black Canary, and Huntress.

Barb had seemed close to catatonic, wringing her mask in her yellow-gloved hands. And Wally found himself even more shocked at the gruesome details than he'd been when Wonder Woman had finally told him what had happened to Tim. He'd actually had nightmares himself last night.

Wally turned his eyes to the alarm clock. Finally realizing that he'd set it early so that he could treat his new fianceé to breakfast at her favorite coffee shop. Looked like it would just be a quick cup of coffee now. _Way to go, West. It's a good thing that it was supposed to be a surprise. Otherwise, Linda would have you in the doghouse right now, buddy._

* * *

Bruce woke to the sound of Diana softly singing in Ancient Greek. He lifted his head to see that his wife was sitting in the old wooden rocker, the very same one that his mother once rocked him in, the nursing cape draped over her front and around her shoulders. She'd told him that it was a precaution she'd begun to take since Alfred had almost walked in on her nursing Nathan that first time. He watched for a few minutes as she rocked the baby he couldn't see. _She must have got to Nathan before he started crying this time._ He smiled to himself, _Still hard to believe that we have Nathan._

"Morning, Princess."

Diana looked up, offering him a tired smile, "Morning yourself. Sleep enough this time?"

He shook his head, yawning in answer as he rose from the bed. Her brows knitted in worry, "We can never seem to get a break, can we, love?"

"Maybe. But I wouldn't trade this for the world," he answered as he walked to her side, kissing her deeply.

She pulled away, offering him a loving smile as she handed little Nathan to him so that she could fix her clothes, "I wasn't exactly talking about our son, but I'm glad that you feel that way."

Bruce smirked at her as he burped the little one. His expression sobered as he cradled the baby to his chest, "I know. What scares me is the knowledge that someone dangerous might _know_ who I am. You and Nathan, _everyone_ in our family, for that matter, is in danger. And whoever this 'C of O' is, he or she isn't hesitating to kill children. If something happens-"

She stood up, tying the belt of her bathrobe, "Nothing's going to happen to us, Bruce. We know something's wrong, which means that we can prepare for it. If the situation is worse than we anticipate, I'll take Nathan to Themyscira. He'll be safe there."

"I thought males weren't allowed on Paradise Island, Princess."

Diana wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek to his left shoulder as she watched their baby yawn, "My sisters won't hold that rule against a baby. And you're forgetting that he's the Queen's grandson. Nathan will be safe there, Bruce."

He was already shaking his head, "That's _way_ to close to Hades, Diana. I'd rather send him to the Watchtower. Have J'onn keep him. That way I can still check on Nathan whenever I need to." He adjusted his hold on Nathan as his son squirmed, moving the baby so that the little one's head rested on his right shoulder. He couldn't resist kissing his baby.

Diana shifted and Bruce turned his attention back to her. He could tell that his wife was about to voice a rebuttal, but she seemed to change her mind mid-thought. One of the perks of being married was that the two of them had learned real fast that compromising was necessary. Neither of them had really adjusted to that too well at first. In fact, in the first six months of their marriage, Bruce had spent more than half of that time sleeping on the couch. Thankfully they loved each other enough to be able to work it out. _In fact, I can't even remember how long it's been since the last time we argued._

Diana sighed, "All right." She offered him one of her bright smiles, one that he particularly loved, "I'm sure J'onn would enjoy that. Speaking of which..."

_Oh no. Here it comes..._ He gave her a cautious look, "Speaking of what, Princess?"

"Nathan's already three days old, love. When were you planning on introducing him to the rest of the Founders? Shayera's been calling me almost non-stop, asking when she can come see her nephew."

"Nephew?"

Diana chuckled, "He might as well be, Bruce. In a way, I think that the League has become our family too."

"Okay." He paused, raising an eyebrow, "Just give me a little while longer, Princess." _I'm not ready to hand my son around just yet._

"Until when?"

He kissed the baby's temple again before kissing hers, "I _still_ can't believe that Nathan's real. That he's _ours_. I'm going to need some more time to let it sink in."

* * *

_Please R&R._


	5. Close Encounters

_Justice League and the Court of Owls does not belong to me. Just Cho & Company._

_Big thanks to Cajun Strong Man 2, Tigress2929, and mbembet for reviewing!  
_

_Oh, and I've got a pic of Nathan up on my profile. Be sure to check it out!  
_

* * *

Three weeks later and Wally was standing at the door of Linda's apartment. It was a Saturday and they'd planned to make breakfast together. In fact, as long as any important League matter didn't come up, they'd planned to spend the _entire_ day together. Mainly, even though Linda didn't know it, Wally was trying to make up for several days of waking up too late to take her out to breakfast. One of the other reasons for the day long date was that they still needed to discuss the wedding.

As soon as Lin opened the door, he swept her off her feet, kissing her all the way to the kitchen. He hadn't seen her for three whole _weeks_ and it felt like an _eternity_. Between the quintuple homicide in Gotham that Bats and Q _still_ didn't have any leads for, several _extremely_ long League missions, and his job, there hadn't been much time for anything more than quick chats on the phone with the woman he loved.

Finally surfacing for air, Wally set Linda on the kitchen stool and both of them panted, huge grins on both of their faces. She was the first one to break the silence, caressing his face with her fingertips, "I take it that you missed me, babe?"

He caught her hand, placing a few kisses on it, "More than you know, Lin."

She almost laughed, but her expression turned concerned as her dark eyes gazed into his light ones, "What's wrong, Wally?"

He tried to put on a reassuring smile, but it felt like a grimace and he _knew_ that she could see right through him. But he shook his head anyway, "Nothing, baby." In truth, he couldn't get Tim's condition, the murders, and the fact that Dick, his best friend, wasn't talking to Bruce out of his head. Even though Bruce and Diana weren't technically part of his family, he thought of them as such and couldn't help but worry about them. _They just can't seem to get a rest. I hadn't realized how messed up Gotham really is until now._

"Wallace. Something's up, I can _see_ it on your face. Does it have anything to do with those murders in Gotham?"

He cocked his head, eyes wide, "How did you know about that?"

"Bruce and Diana are my friends too, Wally. That, and I'm a reporter. It's sort of my job to keep an eye on things like that..." she trailed off, a teasing tone in her voice. He chuckled nervously, hoping she'd dropped the issue.

Her expression turned serious again. _Apparently not._ "Seriously, Wally. It won't be much longer before we're married. And, from my understanding, husbands and wives talk to each other. Might as well start practicing that now."

He rolled his eyes as he started rummaging through the fridge, "Okay, fine. But we'll have to talk about it while we're cooking. I'm _starving_."

Linda laughed, jumping down from the stool to join him, "When are you not, babe?" She surprised Wally by wrapping her arms around his waist, resting her head against his chest, "By the way, I missed you too, hon." He wrapped his own arms around her and buried his face in her hair, finding himself grateful for her stubborn streak. _What did I ever do to deserve her?_

* * *

Barbara's frown deepened as Dick's face became expressionless. All she'd done was mention that she wanted Bruce to be one of the groomsmen at their wedding and her fiancé had gone completely stone-faced. _This is _not_ how I'd planned this to go._ "Richard," she said softly, placing a gentle hand on his jaw, feeling him tense under her touch. "I _know_ that you're upset with Bruce. But what happened to Tim _is not his fault_."

"He let Tim go out on his own-"

"So? Bruce let _you_ go out on your own when you were even _younger_."

Dick pulled away from her, his eyes turning cold, "That's different-"

"I don't see how! Tim has enough experience to handle himself. You're forgetting how many times you _and_ Bruce were almost killed on-."

"Look, Barbara. I _really_ don't want to talk about this, alright?" There was no mistaking the scathing tone of his voice.

Barbara hugged herself. _I hadn't realized he was _this_ angry._ She'd witnessed the fight between Bruce and Dick more than eight months ago. She and a six weeks pregnant Diana had been trying to console a catatonic Tim in the corner of the Den as Dick and Bruce had snapped at each other for a full half hour before the younger of the two men had stormed out. And, although it had been almost nine months since, she'd been under the impression that Dick had just needed time to blow steam. Until tonight, of course. _I hadn't realized that he's just been stewing this entire time._

Richard finally seemed to notice the hurt look in her eyes. His expression softened and he tried pulling her into a hug, but Barbara stepped back, out of his reach. "Babs, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be taking this out on you."

"You shouldn't be taking this out on Bruce either," she whispered. His expression hardened, but he didn't say anything. "Dick, he's your _father_. He adopted you, took you in when you had no place to go. He did the same for Tim. He's only trying-"

"To do what's best for us? Barb, that man only knows one thing. How to be Batman and nothing else. He's not the fatherly kind."

"That's not true. You stormed out, Dick. Does that sound like something a _brother_ would do?" She knew that particular question was the equivalent to a slap on the face, but Barbara was running out of ideas. So far, everything she'd said had fallen on deaf ears. "Bruce has been there for Tim _every_ step of the way. He's been the first to comfort Tim whenever he's had a nightmare, the first to check on him. And if you could just see how he is with Nathan-"

"I thought I said that I _don't_ want to talk about this, Barbara!"

She stiffened, her resolve hardening. _Why didn't I see this coming? Oh yeah, 'cause I'm an emotional, hopelessly romantic twenty-something girl with my head in the clouds. That's why._ Slowly, deliberately, so that Dick could see, Barbara slipped the ring off her left hand and held it out to him, "Then you can keep this until you're _ready_ to talk."

Dick's face went as white as a sheet as he numbly took the diamond ring from her, "Are you-"

"Breaking off the engagement? Yes." She held up a hand to silence him as he opened his mouth to object, "But only until you come to your senses." Barb stepped back further, her expression saddening, "Dick, I love you. But if we're going to argue like this, then we're _definitely_ not ready to take the next step. Not yet. We both need more time." With that, she turned on her heel and headed out the door of his apartment as fast as she dared, trying and failing to keep the tears in. _I had to do it. He didn't give me any other choice._

* * *

Cho watched from her secluded rooftop in an abandoned section of Park Row as the Batsignal lit up the sky yet again. Whatever the reason, it wasn't because of any of the Court's activities. Not yet. Since the murder of the Davidson family, the Court had decided to wait. They wanted to see what Bruce Wayne and the other members of Gotham's elite would do before they took the next step. So far, all had been quiet on the other side. Or so the informants said.

Although she couldn't figure out why she was suddenly allowed freedom to roam Gotham, she knew why the highest Parliament hadn't seen anything wrong with her being out in the open even with Batman and his superhero friends being on high alert. _They're counting on me to use my telepathy to avoid the vigilantes. Out of fear of what they'll do to me if I don't..._

She clenched her fists and her jaw tightened in anger and frustration. Many, many times, Cho had thought of leaving, just running away. She'd even packed her small bag a few times. What had stopped her was the knowledge that, although she _would_ be able to get away, she would most definitely not be able to escape the Court's clutches for long. The proof was in the Talons' sleeping chambers. Only one Talon was kept active at a time, but there were scores of them that the Court of Owls kept stored away for use at a later date. Some of those Talons had tried to escape. But they'd been caught and were now being kept in coffins with the others... Like a coven of vampires.

And if Cho tried to run... That would be her fate when they finally caught up with her.

Cho was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice the raucous down in the streets directly below her hiding place. Not until she heard the sound of gunfire. She pulled her apprentice's mask back over her face and carefully peered over the roof edge. Just as Batman dived into an alleyway to avoid a round of machine gun fire. _I need to get the heck out of here. I'm _way_ too close._ But she couldn't move, she was glued to the spot. Her telepathy kicked in, her dark eyes again changing to creamy silver.

The guy fighting the Batman on the street was a short, balding man. He looked like an average bookkeeper. What was even more out of place than the gun in his left hand was the ventriloquist's dummy on his right. She probed his mind and instantly felt a kind of... wrongness. It was as if his mind was split in two. One half of his mind identified itself with his body, while the other half identified with the dummy. _Scarface? Like the mobster?_ She shook her head. _The Court wasn't kidding. Gotham really is a sick place. But that still doesn't justify what they plan on doing..._

She was jerked back to reality again, this time by the fact that she could literally see, through the Ventriloquist's mind, Batman in the gun's crosshairs. _Oh no._

There wasn't time to think. Only to act. Cho closed her eyes in concentration and sent what she liked to call 'mental interference' into the maniac's brain. Basically she was overloading his mind with so much info, most of it completely useless, at a pace too fast for his brain to process. In less than five seconds, he'd dropped the dummy and started clutching his head, screaming. In ten seconds, he was completely unconscious.

And with that, the only active mind in the immediate vicinity was Batman's. Cho's telepathy instantly locked onto him, as if he were some kind of homing beacon. And, although there was a certain... darkness about the man, it was the furthest thing from evil that she'd ever felt. Sure, there was anger and fear. Sadness and remorse even. But, underneath it all, she sensed a drive to protect, a compulsion stronger than anything else she'd felt so far. She opened her eyes to find a dark-cowled head lifted in her direction, white lenses staring _directly_ at her creamy silver eyes.

Slowly, so as not to incite him into pursuing her by seeming suspicious, she scooted back onto the rooftop and out of Batman's line of sight. Cho kept her telepathy active as she took off at a dead run, jumping across several alleyways. She could feel that the Detective, as one member of the Court had referred to him as, had tied up the insane man and was already at her rooftop hiding place. But he wasn't following her. In fact, if anything, he seemed frustrated. Cho allowed herself a sigh of relief. _I got away just in time._

Her hand went to her belt, where her sword hung. Or, rather, where it _usually_ hung. And she froze to a dead stop. _My sword! I left it behind and now the Batman has it!_ That, however, wasn't the most terrifying thought that came to her head. She quickly shut off her telepathy so that she wouldn't accidentally send Batman her thoughts. _There isn't anything on that sword that he can use, no fingerprints and no DNA. It's completely clean, I should know._ The most dreadful thought was what the Court might do to her as punishment for being so careless. _Maybe they'll be lenient this time, since it is my first slip._ Cho could only hope.

_I know one thing for sure. I am _definitely_ not telling them that I just saved the Batman's life._

* * *

_Please R&R._


	6. Mush

_Justice League does not belong to me. Just Cho & Company._

_Big thanks to Tigress2929, Cajun Strong Man 2, mbembet, and Janizary for reviewing!  
_

* * *

Huntress stood on the rooftop across from the police station. Batman was supposed to meet Batgirl here, but BG had called Helena and asked her to fill in. Something about the younger woman's voice had been off, almost as if she'd been crying. Huntress had tried asking what was wrong, but Barbara had only said that everything was fine before clicking out of the link. _Canary's right, she's _definitely_ taking after Batman. Understandable, since he was her mentor._

"What are you doing here, Huntress?"

_Speak of the devil..._ She turned around to face him, crossing her arms over her chest, "Batgirl asked me to sub for her." The Dark Knight glared at her, but she held her ground. She was one of very few in the superhero community who could stand up to him like that. 'I'm just as unhappy about it as you are, Batman. Vic and I were supposed to go out tonight."

The man just stared at her for a full minute before he finally spoke, "Is she okay?"

Helena's eyes widened at that. _Who would have thought? Batman actually _showing_ concern!_ _Wonders never cease..._ "From my understanding, I think she's alright. Physically, at least."

"What do you mean 'physically'?"

Huntress shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. She sounded pretty upset, but she wouldn't say why. I'm thinking romance troubles, but I can't say for sure. I'm guessing that you'll just have ask Barb about it, Bruce."

Batman narrowed his eyes, "Not in the costume, Helena."

She responded by rolling her eyes, "By the way, how's little Nate?"

If looks could kill...

* * *

It had to be the middle of the night and some crazy person was pounding on Wally's door. _Must be too drunk to realize that he's got the wrong apartment._ He sat up, groggy, and glanced at the alarm clock. Yep. Twelve o'clock, on the dot. The pounding stopped for a full minute and Wally lay back down, closing his eyes. Only to jerk upright as the pounding started up again. This time, it was louder and more urgent. _Can't be Linda. She'd be blowing up my phone _before_ resorting to attacking my door._

Still half-asleep, he forced himself to get out of bed and make his way to his front door. He peered out the peephole and was instantly wide awake. Barbara Gordon was standing out in the hallway, her face streaked with tears. Immediately, he opened the door, "Babs? What's wrong? What are you doing here?"

She sniffed, trying hard to keep control of herself. She tried smirking at him, but he could tell that it was forced. "Nice PJs, Flash."

He looked down, noticing for the first time the Star Wars patterns on his shirt and pants. Wally had been so dead-tired when he'd arrived home earlier in the evening that he hadn't really paid much attention to what he'd changed into. Not that he'd expected any middle of the night visitors. _If anyone in the League hears about this, _especially_ John, I'll never live it down._ His face turned bright red, but he chuckled anyway, "Christmas present from Lin." He stepped back so that Barbara could enter.

She did, but stood in the center of his living room, hugging herself with a lost look on her face. _That's not normal Babs behavior._ Something bad must have happened. _I just hope that it's not Tim..._

"Do you want something to drink? I _think_ I might have some teabags around here somewhere."

Barbara offered him a watery smile, "Tea sounds great. Thanks, Wally. I bet you're wondering what I'm doing here."

He nodded, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Yeah, but you don't have to tell me if you don't want-" Babs had reached her left hand up to sweep her bangs out of her eyes and that was when he'd noticed that she was missing her engagement ring, "Dick broke up with you?!" He winced. _I didn't mean for it to come out like that._

She sighed, rubbing the tears from her eyes, "_I_ b-broke up with _him_. Temporarily." At his confused look, she explained, "He's being so hard-headed right now. All we've ever done over the past few days was argue. I d-didn't think we were ready, not yet."

"Does this have anything to do with the fact that he's not talking to Bats?"

"Yes." Her face scrunched up, "I take it that Bruce and Diana told you about it?"

"Yeah. Di told me the _entire_ story." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her into his small kitchen, "C'mon, let's get you some tea."

She sat down at the table as he rummaged at superspeed through the kitchen, trying to find where Linda had put those pesky little teabags. She startled chuckling and he paused long enough to give her a confused look. Which only made her laugh harder.

"You sounded _just_ like Alfred."

"Don't know why you'd think that. I'm not British."

Barbara rolled her eyes, "You know what I mean."

"Ah ha!" Wally pulled a lone teabag from its hiding place and set about heating up a mug of water, "Since you're here, I don't think Bats knows."

She shook her head, and he couldn't help but feel relieved that she'd calmed down somewhat, "I didn't want to put any more pressure on him. His plate's already _way_ overloaded. Bruce is already going crazy. He's worried out of his mind about this whole 'C of O' situation."

"Any luck?"

"No. Absolutely nothing. Bruce is getting so wound up that he's very close to sending _all_ of us in the Batfamily, Dick included, up to the Watchtower to keep us safe. Just in case."

"Why not go to your Dad about this, then?"

Barbara just gave him a look, "Wally. My father is Gotham City's _police commissioner_. If he finds out about what happened... I _really_ don't want Daddy going after Dick."

* * *

Batman, cowl pushed back, cradling three week old Nathan in his left arm as he researched yet another GCPD file on the 'Cave's supercomputer. Diana had went out for the first time in _several_ months. He remembered how panicked he'd been when his wife had started having miscarriage signs five months in. His Princess' doctor had attributed it to the stress of helping take care of Tim and had ordered her to remain on bedrest for the remainder of her pregnancy. Between his wife and his second son, Bruce, and Alfred too for that matter, had literally been running ragged.

And with trying to care for his family, many times Bruce had been forced to choose between going on patrols and staying home. Which was why certain heroes, like Zatanna, Huntress, Black Canary, and Question, were now allowed to patrol in Gotham with Batgirl. One of the reasons why he'd picked the four were because Dinah and Helena were native Gothamites, Zanna was a close friend, and Vic had been a trusted source of information _long_ before the League had expanded.

But that wasn't really important now. Nathan whimpered and Batman took a few minutes to comfort his son before turning his attention back to the screen. He'd been trying to find anything he could on the mystery girl that had stopped the Ventriloquist the night before. He hadn't been able to find any trace of evidence on the sword. Aside from the fact that the weapon, a katana, was shorter than average and that the handle grip was on the small side. Those two clues were how he'd figured out that the mystery meta was female. No taller than five feet, or so he guessed. Other than that, he still had nothing.

"Anything, sir?" Alfred laid a tea tray on the console, and poured a cup of chamomile tea. _Alfred's hint that he thinks I should be heading to bed._ After three weeks with no other sign of movement from the 'C of O', Bruce found himself relaxing, if only just a little bit. He'd actually been sleeping better lately, only interrupted by the occasional nightmare of Tim's and baby Nathan, who still required regular feedings.

_Speaking of which..._ Just as Bruce opened his mouth to reply to his butler, little Nathan's face scrunched up, turning a light shade of red as the baby let out a wail. And Bruce switched from hardened vigilante to loving father almost instantly, "Shh, Nathan. It's okay, son." But the baby refused to be comforted this time. Bruce stood, pacing as he rocked his son in his arms, "Shh, it's alright, Nathan. Mommy will be home in just a few minutes. It's okay." _Still not working. Where are you, Princess?_

"Would you like me to prepare a bottle, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked, watching with an amused smile as a normally stoic Bruce continued cooing to Nathan in an effort to distract the baby.

Bruce paused. From the start, Diana had been adamant that she nurse their son. _But if there's ever a time that she's needed on a mission, Nathan's going to need a bottle anyway. Might as well get him used to it now._ He cradled his son against his shoulder and rubbed the baby's little back. _That, and it looks like Diana's running late. And... I just can't bear to hear him cry like this any longer._ Bruce sighed, "Might as well, Alfred."

* * *

Diana entered the darkened mansion, locking the front door behind her. It had been a relief to get out, even if it was just for two hours. And even though she hadn't had much time, she and Shayera had managed to do a lot of catching up. Once Diana had learned that she was pregnant with Nathan, it was the Thanagarian woman that she'd turned to first, even though things were still a little tense between them. Shayera had just had her own firstborn only the month before and Diana had needed someone experienced and _familiar_ to discuss her new condition with. After all, pregnancy wasn't exactly common among Amazons. Over the past several months, she and Shayera had actually become better friends. Closer than they had been before the Thanagarian invasion, actually. It was Shayera's visits that kept the princess from going crazy while she'd been on bedrest. _It was stupid of me to hold a grudge against her for as long as I did. I missed out on a good friend._

Diana looked around and noticed that although the rest of the lights in the Manor were off, the kitchen light was still on. No sound came from that particular room, though, and that meant that her husband and Alfred were down in the 'Cave. _I thought I told Bruce to get some sleep..._ She rolled her eyes at her love's stubbornness.

She pulled off her heels and made her way to the study. As she entered the 'Cave, Alfred greeted her warmly as he took the tea tray back upstairs. Diana walked up to Bruce, who was sitting at the computer with his cowl pushed back, and hugged him from behind. He turned his head and caught her lips with his own. Diana had to literally force herself to pull away. _Can't get carried away right now, Bruce is holding Nathan._ Wait one minute. "Bruce, Love, I thought we had agreed that I would _nurse_ our son."

He actually looked sheepish as he held the bottle for Nathan. The baby looked to be asleep, but he was still sucking greedily. "Sorry, Princess. But you _know_ that I don't like to hear him cry." He leaned down to kiss their baby's forehead again. He was constantly doing that with Nathan and her. Whenever they were alone, Bruce easily became the most affectionate of men. _If anyone had told me this when I'd first realized my true feelings for him all those years ago, I would never have believed it._

And Diana couldn't stay mad any longer. In fact, she could barely control her laughter.

"What's so funny?" If anything, Bruce's voice sounded relieved. _Probably was scared that I would snap at him again._ Unfortunately, thanks to her hormones running rampant due to her pregnancy, she'd snapped at him many times over the past few months. A fact that she wasn't proud of. But that was over and done with. _Can't dwell on the past like that. Especially since my husband is already punishing himself for something that wasn't even his fault. He needs me to stay focused._

"Princess?"

She shook her head, her blue eyes meeting his, "Who would have thought that one little baby could manage to successfully turn _Batman_ to mush."

He gave an irritated 'humph', but Diana could tell that he was trying to hold back a smirk, "Actually, his beautiful mother accomplished that first."

_That_ caused her to laugh again as she settled herself in her chair. And then she sobered, noting how quiet the 'Cave was. Much quieter than normal at this time of night. "Have you heard from Barbara yet?"

He shook his head, carefully slipping the empty bottle out of their son's mouth and setting it on the console, "No. But Wally called me while you were gone. Apparently Barb showed up at his apartment around midnight last night. He said they talked a little and that she's staying with Linda for the time being."

"Any idea as to why she took off to Central?"

"She's been arguing with Dick lately. It would not surprise me if he, or she, called off the engagement," Bruce responded dejectedly.

Diana was quiet for a moment. She was already well aware of the reason for the young couple's fights. Dick's belief that Bruce was to blame for what had happened to Tim was an extremely sore spot in his relationship with Barbara. It didn't help that Bruce still believed his oldest son to be right. "Bruce, I love you."

"I love you too, Princess."

"Good. And none of this is your fault. So stop blaming yourself." She placed a hand on his tensed jaw and Bruce turned his gaze from their son and back to her. Her expression turned pleading, "_Please_, Bruce. I _can't_ stand seeing you like this anymore."

He took her hand and kissed it, "Alright, I'll try." _I guess that's the best that I can hope for._

* * *

_Please R&R._


	7. Undercover

_Justice League and the Court of Owls does not belong to me. Just Cho and Company._

_Okay, now that the scene is ready, it's about time to get on with the action!  
_

_Big thanks to mbembet, Cajun Strong Man 2, Tigress2929, FrostLily11 for reviewing!  
_

* * *

Being the girlfriend of billionaire Bruce Wayne's oldest son sure had it's advantages, even if Barbara had been ignoring Dick for the past month. Her relationship with Richard kept people from questioning why she was accompanying Bruce and Diana to a fund raiser for mayoral candidate Lincoln March.

Barb had seen the guy in the news a _lot_ lately. Apparently, although he'd been born and raised in Gotham City, he'd only just moved back from Chicago about a year ago. And he had a lot of _big_ plans for Gotham. In fact, his slogan, which was extremely overused in her opinion, was 'Lincoln March, for a better Gotham'." _I guess people like overused slogans._ According to Bruce, March was most likely to win this year's election. _I still can't believe how much the man looks like Bruce though. Talk about weird._

When March had first begun campaigning in Gotham, there had been a lot of jokes, and speculation too, about the possibility of him being Bruce Wayne's older brother.

But Barb wasn't here just to meet and greet and spread rumors with Gotham's rich and famous. Most of Wayne Industries' board members were attending this gala. And, even though it had been two months since the deaths of Henry Davidson and his family, Bruce had made sure that there was extra security on hand. Bruce was wearing his costume under his tux while Barbara was wearing hers underneath her sparkling red floor length dress and black satin jacket. And Clark Kent was also in attendance. Bruce had used his acquaintance with Lois to get both her and the Boy Scout in. _Wally is starting to rub off on me._ Even J'onn was around somewhere, posing as a server. Diana simply had to find an empty room if she needed to twirl into her armor.

_Talk about overkill._ But, then again, they had a legitimate reason to be on high alert. Whoever this 'C of O' was probably wouldn't be able to pass up on so many high-quality targets in one place.

"You must be Barbara Gordon," a young woman with a light Chicago accent spoke up from behind her. Barb turned to see Lincoln's secretary. An Asian girl with red highlights in her long black hair. And dark brown eyes, almost the same color as Nathan's.

She nodded, extending a hand, "Yep, that's me. And you're Isabelle?" The girl nodded. "How does a teenager end up working for someone like March?"

Said teenager's mouth quirked in a small smile, and Barb was instantly reminded of one of Bruce's amused smirks. Even if she didn't know why. "Mr. March is a close family friend. That, and most of us home-schoolers have very flexible schedules."

"I bet." _Something just doesn't feel right about this girl._ The way Isabelle held herself and the way she spoke just looked and felt too... practiced. _This girl is acting, I'm sure of it._

But it might just have to do with the fact that the Asian girl was only nervous. Not many ordinary sixteen year olds got the chance to attend a party like this. Barbara remembered her first gala very well. She'd been beyond overwhelmed.

_Even so, I'm still going to keep my eye on her._

* * *

After several minutes of polite conversation with the police commissioner's daughter, Cho had excused herself to mingle with Mr. March's other guests. When Barbara had asked how Cho had ended up working for March, the girl had almost told her that he was her father. But that would not have been wise, according to the Court. She was only half Asian, but Cho was well aware that people wouldn't believe that due to her looks, which she'd inherited from her mother. The only physical attribute that she'd inherited from her father was his smile. She didn't look enough like him to pass as his daughter in the minds of these shallow people.

What was really bugging Cho was that she hated lying, simple as that. Cho's entire education was in the art of war and deception. And she was sick of it. If she wasn't here with her father, if other apprentices and members of the Parliament weren't also in attendance, Cho was sure that she would have 'spilled her guts' as she'd heard a teenager say once in a movie.

An hour into the party, a Court member caught her eye and raised his brow, causing Cho to immediately duck her head. It was a silent reminder. Play your part, or else...

_Play my part._ That meant that she wasn't just here to socialize. She needed to find a quiet corner to disappear to. She couldn't activate her telepathy in the middle of the room as her eyes would be a dead giveaway that she wasn't normal. _I really _really_ don't like invading people's minds like this._ But the Court required her to find out which of Gotham's elite was most likely to be the leader of the new movement to better Gotham. The movement that would take Gotham out of their control, even if her father did win the election. And although most of their intel suggested Wayne, the Court of Owls wanted to make sure that they took care of _all_ potential threats. _These people aren't the threat, though._

* * *

Bruce introduced Diana to Lincoln March, a man that he'd already had a few talks with over the past couple of months. So far, Lincoln proved himself to be exactly what he claimed he was. A humble man simply doing his part to make the world just a little bit better.

Although he needed to keep his mind on the fundraiser and the mission at hand, Bruce found his thoughts drifting back to Nathan. This would be the first time that both he and Diana were away from their baby at the same time. But he had to remind himself not to worry, that his son was far from unprotected. Alfred was at the Manor, yes, but so was Wally. Even Dick was at the mansion, to help keep an eye on the baby and Tim. Richard had only agreed to the plan once it was made clear that Bruce wouldn't be at the Manor.

Dick's behavior towards him _hurt_. Bruce had promised Diana that he would stop blaming himself and he was actually doing much better. Still, the knowledge that his oldest son was against him didn't help matters...

He almost jumped when Diana subtly elbowed him in the ribs. "I'm sorry, Lincoln. I didn't catch what you said."

"Something on your mind, Bruce?" The man studied him with raised brows.

Diana skillfully cut in, "He's just ready to get back home, Mr. March. Neither of us are used to being away from our son for so long." One of the quirks of being married to a princess, particularly this one. Since she'd first come to 'Man's World', Diana had become a master of diplomacy. In fact, not that he'd admit it, she was _way_ better at it than he was.

The man nodded and continued the earlier conversation. And Bruce made sure that he paid attention this time. _It's a good thing that Diana's got my back, but I can't slip up like that again. If something happens and I'm not paying attention..._

* * *

Not in a million years did Wally _ever_ think this would happen. Who would have thought that Bruce Wayne, the _Batman_, would ask Wally West, the Flash, to babysit his two month old son? _I'm the cut-up of the team, so why ask me? I mean, I'm glad he did, but I would have thought that Bats would have asked J'onn._ Actually, Wally knew that he hadn't been first choice, that honor had actually gone to Shayera and John. But both of them had turned it down because their one year old son, Rex, had caught a stomach virus and they hadn't wanted to expose baby Nathan to that.

Currently Wally was walking to the kitchen to get the baby a bottle while Dick hung out with Tim in media room. Part of him wanted to knock some sense into Grayson for ignoring Bruce and breaking Babs' heart, but he knew that violence of _any_ kind would set Tim off. And Bats had expressly told him to keep the peace and keep out of it. It wasn't any of his business, really.

_But, when you think about it, it is. I mean, Bruce and Dick are my friends. So is Barbara, and she came to _me_ for help._ He sighed as he shook the bottle, still cradling Nathan close with his right arm. _But, in a way, Bats is right. I can't confront Dick here, especially not with Tim and Nathan close by. 'Cause it's bound to become a shouting match, no matter how carefully I try to approach him._ Even though Richard was much more relaxed than his mentor, it was _very_ clear that he'd inherited his adoptive father's signature stubbornness. It would take a _lot_ of talking on Wally's part to convince Grayson to change his mind. And even then, there was no guarantee that things would turn out the way that he hoped.

Wally was so caught up in the predicament, that little Nathan's wail almost made him jump, "Oops! Sorry, buddy. Here ya go, Nate." Wally smiled as the baby sucked on the bottle, remembering the look on Bruce's face just a few hours earlier when he'd used the shortened form of the littlest Wayne's name. _Too bad, he'll just have to deal with it._ That brought back a particular memory from three years ago. Artemis Wayne turning on him with fury in her blue eyes as she'd told him that her nickname was nothing to laugh at, that it was given to her by her Flash. And he was immediately hit with grief so bad that he actually had to lean against the counter to maintain his balance. _Man, I _really_ miss those kids._

"Something wrong, Master Wallace?" Alfred spoke up from out of nowhere, effectively startling Wally enough to make him jump. Nathan gurgled in complaint but kept working on the bottle.

If Wally had a free hand, he would have laid it over his heart, "Man, Jeeves. Would it hurt to give a warn- Oh, great. Just great. _Really_? Thanks, Nate." The baby just cooed, looking up at him with innocent brown eyes and a trickle of spit-up running down his little chin.

The rest of it, quite a lot actually, was currently on Wally's shirt. _I forgot how disgusting babies can be. I just can't see Bats dealing with something like this, especially on a daily basis..._ That thought almost made him smirk. What kept him from laughing was that he still had a big wet spot of baby vomit covering the front of his shirt.

Alfred expertly took the baby from him and proceeded to calmly clean the little guy up, "I believe that some of Master Dick's shirts are still in his old bedroom. I'm sure that he wouldn't mind if you borrowed one."

Wally grimaced, setting the half empty bottle down on the counter and accepting the towel that the butler offered him, "Thanks, Alfred. Umm... How are you handling this so easily?"

"I was not kidding when I told you that I've been in service here since Master Bruce was in diapers. I may be just a little bit rusty, but this isn't the first baby that I have cleaned up."

The very mental picture that Alfred's words brought up was so hilarious that Wally about forgot his current situation and proceeded to laugh uncontrollably.

Tim's voice spoke up from the doorway, "What's so funny?" Wally managed to control himself enough to catch a glimpse of Tim's face. The teenager smirked when he caught sight of the red-haired man's t-shirt, "Oh, man. Little guy got ya good, huh? You should have seen it the first time he got Dad. Talk about _hilarious_." The eighteen year old came into the kitchen, "Is it safe to hold him, Alfred?"

Said butler nodded his head, "I should think so, Master Tim. Judging from the condition of Master Wallace's shirt, I'd say that Master Nathan 'got it all out'."

Tim laughed, holding his little brother expertly. By that time, Wally had zipped out, changed his shirt, and zipped back in. "I'll never get used to how you do that, West." _Tim sounds _much_ better. But Diana said that he's still jumpy, and that he still has nightmares. It's gonna be a while before he's a hundred percent again._

He shrugged his shoulders, "What's really freaky is-"

"That Superman can mimic _anyone's_ voice? Yeah, that completely freaked me out," Tim shivered, proving his point.

"I didn't know Supes could do _that_." In fact, Wally had actually been about to mention the way that J'onn would sometimes just phase in out of nowhere. But he found Tim's little bit of info _much_ more intriguing.

"Yeah, he did that when Bruce was under Brainiac's mind control. Even dressed up as Batman for the night."

"Seriously?" Wally could sense a real good story behind that one.

* * *

_To quote Gandalf in The Return of the King: "The board is set. And the pieces are moving..."_

_Please R&R._


	8. Sniper

_Justice League does not belong to me. Just Cho and Company._

_Big thanks to Dark Knight, ieatcookies, mbembet, Cajun Strong Man 2, Tigress2929, and 1Superman4Me for reviewing!  
_

* * *

Cho easily managed to find herself a nice quiet corner to settle in. The party was being held at her father's penthouse and she'd been forced to memorize the schematics for the place. Mainly because she was doubling as protection for the Court members in attendance. If something went wrong tonight, it was up to her and a few other apprentices also in disguise to get their leaders to safety.

As she activated her telepathy, she sat down and closed her eyes, rubbing her temples. To the rest of the party-goers, it would simply look like she was suffering from a headache.

"Are you alright, Ma'am?" A deep voice spoke up from in front of her. Cho was just barely aware of something trying to touch her mind as the man spoke. _Another telepath. Has to be it._ She immediately focused her own telepathy inward, blocking the unknown's from invading too far into her mind.

Cho opened her dark eyes and smiled at the server. Given the intensity of his gaze, he was the other telepath. _Has to be._ The only thing that kept her from panicking was the fact that her ability would only allow him to see what she wanted him to see. Simply the thoughts of an exhausted teenaged girl who had spent months planning this event and just wanted it to be over. It was a good thing too that her eyes only turned creamy silver when her telepathy was focused outward. _Thank goodness for that._ She nodded, "I'm fine. Just a tension headache, I believe." _Judging by how calm he is, I doubt he's read any of the Parliament's minds... Yet._

The skin around his eyes creased in concern, "Are you sure? Is there anything I can get you?" _You're a good little actor, aren't you? Almost as good as me. But that's nothing to be proud about..._

She shook her head slowly, black and red curls bouncing slightly, "I don't think so. It'll pass. Thank you...?"

"John."

She stood, offering him a hand as she smiled, "Thank you, John." _Oh, how I hate acting like this._ What she wouldn't give to be free of this world of intrigue and hidden agendas. To simply be able to speak the truth.

* * *

Barb continued to mingle, but something just didn't feel right. She had goosebumps trailing up her arms. The proverbial bad feeling. The kind of hunch that Bruce had once told her that she should _always_ go with.

She surveyed the room quickly, but nothing seemed out of place. There were a few couples dancing in the middle of the room. Clark and Lois and Bruce and Diana among them. J'onn was making his rounds, just stopping long enough to check on Isabelle, who apparently was suffering from a headache. March was speaking animatedly with an older couple.

That was when she saw it. A little red dot on the back of Bruce's tux, right over his heart. A targeting light. Someone was aiming at him!

Barbara glanced around quickly, but no one else seemed to notice. And, as far as she could tell, she was the only one close enough to _do_ something. Almost without thinking, she lunged at Bruce, knocking both him and Diana off of their feet as a gun went off and searing pain cut through her lower back. Pain so great, that it completely rendered her incapable of crying out.

* * *

Diana was actually enjoying herself. It was nice to be just Diana, Bruce's wife, and not Diana, the Princess of Themyscira and founding League member. People talked with her as if she was an equal and not above them. Yes, quite a few of the people in her husband's social circle were kind of shallow, but at least they weren't grovelling at her feet.

What made the night even more special was the fact that she and Bruce actually got to _dance_ in the first time in _months_. It was something that she had missed dearly. She laid her head on his shoulder as they waltzed slowly among a few other couples. Bruce pressed a kiss to her forehead, but she knew that his mind was more on the mission. That was the downside, the mission. Bruce believed that the 'C of O' would try to 'crash the party', as Wally had said. And Diana was inclined to disagree. It just didn't fit. But then again, her husband had lived in Gotham much longer than she had. And he understood how criminals thought. He'd spent _years_ just studying them.

"The fundraiser's almost over, Love," she whispered into his ear. "I don't think anything's going to happen."

"A lot of criminals prefer to wait until the last minute, Prin-"

A gunshot and the sound of shattering glass interrupted him and they were both knocked to the floor.

Diana pulled herself up into a sitting position, "Bruce! Are you-?" She gasped when she saw what had knocked them over. Or rather, _who_. Barbara was cradled in Bruce's arms, her features contorted in pain. There was blood _everywhere_. _Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no! Barb!_

* * *

As soon as the gunshot, completely unexpected, went off, Cho's guess about the server was proved correct. He wasn't what he looked to be, but she most _definitely_ had not been expecting him to morph into the Martian Manhunter. _What is _he_ doing in Gotham City? Unless the Justice League suspects the Court..._ She gulped. If the League did know something about the Court of Owls, other than the 'C of O' moniker the Talon had used in the note left on Davidson's body, she would be one of the first to be interrogated by the highest Parliament.

But all thoughts of her masters were driven from her mind as she saw the Martian fly to the center of the room. Bruce Wayne was sitting on the floor, his wife beside him, cradling Barbara Gordon on his lap. The young woman looked like she was about to pass out from pain and Cho had _never_ seen that much blood. Not even when she'd once accompanied the Talon on one of his many missions.

She could only stand in shock as Superman also appeared seemingly out of nowhere. As the Kryptonian sped off with the injured redhead, the Martian calmly began escorting people out. Bruce and Diana Wayne, both looking shaken and with streaks of blood on their clothes, somehow managed to keep calm enough to assist the superhero. Cho jumped as a hand landed on her shoulder and her father nodded at her as he assisted a trembling older woman to the exit. _Do your job..._

As she pretended to calm a woman Court member who was acting like she was panicking, a few more heroes materialized. Huntress and Black Canary. Green Arrow. They traded a few words with the Martian before taking off, most likely to search for the sniper.

_It wasn't one of the Court, that's for sure. This was just an observation mission._ Even though the highest members of the Court were at the penthouse, killing was beneath them. That was the Talon's job, but he was back at headquarters._ And sniping isn't the Talon's style anyway._ Whoever did this was outside of the Court of Owls' control. Most likely one of Gotham's insane criminals.

Besides, Gordon wasn't one of the Court's targets anyway. Actually, it just didn't make sense for anyone to target her at all, unless it was for ransom since she was the girlfriend of Wayne's eldest son. And then it clicked. _She pushed Bruce Wayne out of the way._

Wayne had been the target after all.

It wasn't until she was in her quarters later on that night that Cho realized that Batman had not once shown his cowled face throughout the entire ordeal. _He might just have been busy elsewhere._

The half-Asian girl sat cross-legged on the floor as she watched the news yet again. This time wringing her hands as she waited for an update on Gordon's condition. _I really hope that she'll be okay._

* * *

Wally had just got Nathan to sleep for the second time that night and he, Tim, and Dick were currently watching some cheesy, second-rate sci-fi horror flick. So cheesy, that all three of them were actually laughing at the scariest scene in the movie when Dick's cell phone went off. Wally held up the remote to pause the show, but Dick motioned for him and Tim to keep watching.

Both Wally and Tim jumped when Dick shouted.

"WHAT?!"

And the teenager became a trembling mess almost immediately, twitching nervously as his eyes roved the room. _He looks like he's about to bolt._ The change was so sudden that Wally, even with his superspeed, barely had time to react. He reached an arm around Tim, pulling him closer, "Easy there, buddy. Dick's just talking on the phone, that's all."

"But why is he yelling?" Tim was whispering, his voice taking on a scared tone. "What's wrong? I haven't heard him yell like this since..." He trailed off, but Wally mentally finished that thought, _Since Bruce and Barb brought you back from the old Arkham. Since the argument he had with Bats._

"I don't know." Wally wanted to go find out what was going on, but he didn't _dare_ leave Tim alone in this state.

And that's when Alfred showed up again. The man had an uncanny ability to pop up _exactly_ when he was needed. "I'll look after Master Tim."

"Thanks, Alfred. I'll be right back, Tim." With that, Wally zipped out of the room and into the kitchen, where Dick had gone in an effort to keep Tim from overhearing any more.

Richard looked completely shaken, his face pale. _Something _really_ bad happened. How come I haven't heard anything through my earpiece?_

"Okay, Bruce. Okay, I'll tell them." Dick paused, looking a bit uncomfortable, "Umm, I know this might not be the right time, but I'm sorry." He paused again, listening for a few seconds, "Okay, I'll see you in a few." He flipped the phone closed.

"What happened, Dick?"

"Bruce's hunch was more right than even he thought. Someone targeted _him_ at the fundraiser."

Wally's blue eyes went wide, "Are he and Diana okay?"

Dick pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling slowly before meeting Wally's eyes again, "They're fine. Barb pushed them out of the way."

The speedster couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, "That's good, at least everything's fine-"

Richard surprised him by grabbing his forearm so tightly that it almost hurt, "No, Wally. It's not 'fine'. Barbara..." Grayson's expression turned pained, scared even, "Barb t-took the shot meant for the old man. They're not even sure that she's going to make it." And then he let go, sinking to the floor, gripping his head as he shook with sobs that he was trying to suppress.

Wally sat beside him, "Hey man, it'll be okay. Babs is a fighter, she'll make it."

"What if she doesn't? Wally, the last time we talked, I y-yelled at her. I made her _cry_."

"Barb's hurt?"

Both men looked up to see Tim's scared face and Wally noticed an instant change come over Dick. Bruce's eldest son quickly got control and pulled himself to his feet. He placed his hands on his younger brother's shoulders, "Yes. But J'onn and several of the League's doctors, some of the best, are working on her right now. She'll be fine." _I hope you're right, Dick. I hope you're right._

"Can we go see her?"

Dick nodded, "In fact, Bruce wants us _all_ up there. Including Alfred and Nathan." He turned his head towards Wally, "And he wants you to call Linda once we get up there."

* * *

_Please R&R._


	9. Waiting

_Justice League and the Court of Owls does not belong to me. Just Cho and Company._

_Big thanks to mbembet, 1Superman4Me, Cajun Strong Man 2, Hawk2012, Tigress2929, and FrostLily11 for reviewing!  
_

* * *

Huntress had been enjoying a nice quiet evening to herself when J'onn's voice called her, Black Canary, and Green Arrow over the comlink. Earlier, Batman had asked Helena and the other two to stay in Gotham on standby in case something went wrong at the big gala that he and Diana were attending. _Dang, that man should take up a side-job as a fortune-teller. He'd be good at it._

Then Superman's voice came over the link, saying that Batgirl had been shot... _What? Barb? What the heck happened? I thought Bruce and his board members were the targets..._

No time to think about that now. Huntress placed her mask on her face and requested teleportation to Lincoln March's penthouse. She materialized right next to Dinah, and Oliver materialized behind them a second later. There was no sign of Superman or Barbara, but Bruce, Diana, J'onn, and March were helping panicked people to the exits. A teenaged Asian girl, who Helena knew from Batman's research to be March's secretary, was watching the scene unfold with a shocked expression. _Poor girl._

J'onn, using his telepathy, updated the three newly arrived Leaguers on the situation. Apparently, someone had tried taking a pot shot at Bruce and Barb had pushed him out the way, taking the hit herself. Superman had already rushed her out of sight of the March's penthouse so that he could beam himself and Barbara up without putting suspicion on Barb. Civilians weren't taken to the Watchtower's hospital wing, only Leaguers. Batgirl hadn't joined yet, but thanks to her affiliation with Batman she was one of the extremely few non-Leaguers given that special treatment. Special treatment that probably was the only thing that could save her life.

Huntress nodded to J'onn before she, Canary, and Arrow split up to search the perimeter. They had to search for the sniper, who couldn't have gotten far. _Find 'im and book 'im. Of course, I'll make sure to knock him around some before I take him in. No one does that to one of my gals._ Over the past three years, and especially since Diana had become pregnant, Batman had allowed Huntress more free rein in Gotham with the understanding that, if she tried another stunt like that Mandragora incident, he'd reveal her identity to the world.

And she couldn't exactly have retaliated with the same threat. Bruce had already gone to great lengths to prove that he _wasn't_ Batman, no one would believe a crazed vigilante girl who'd been cut from the League. So she'd followed suit, playing nicely. And she'd worked with Batgirl a _lot_. In fact, the two of them and Canary were, like the Flash had said, like the three Amigos. Thick as thieves. Arrow had even called them the Birds of Prey once...

Of course, Huntress didn't let these thoughts distract her from the mission at hand. As she prowled the rooftop of the building directly across the street from March's penthouse, she couldn't help feeling like something just wasn't right. Goosebumps crept up her arms as she noticed an unmoving bundle. A bundle that suspiciously looked like a body... _without a head_.

In fact, that's _exactly_ what it was. A sniper's rifle was clenched in the body's hands. "This is Huntress," she began, her voice shaky. She cleared her throat, but it had no effect whatsoever on her voice. Helena still sounded freaked as she reported in, "I think... I _definitely_ found the sniper."

"What's his position?" Arrow spoke up.

No answer.

"Huntress?" Canary's voice filled with worry, "Helena? What's wrong?"

"I th-think that C of O has been here..." Huntress caught movement in her peripheral view. She whipped around, catching sight of a black-clothed figure jumping across any alleyway with something that looked suspiciously like a sack thrown over his shoulder. "In fact, I think I see him now."

With that, she took off after the figure, managing to keep up with him for several blocks. J'onn, Canary, and Arrow all tried calling her, but she ignored them, focusing on the hunt. _Looks like he's headed for the old Park Row. Crime Alley does seem to be the best place for scum like that to hide._ And then, just like that, the C of O was gone. _What the heck?_

Well, at least she knew without a doubt that he was the same person who'd committed the Davidson murders. The suspect perfectly fit Vic's description from two months ago.

* * *

Tim didn't care that Bruce was in full Batman regalia. All he cared about was Bruce was his _dad_. And he was scared for Barbara. _Crap. I'm eighteen years old. I shouldn't be acting like a scared little kid every time something bad happens._ But that was simply all thanks to the Joker. The psychopath had done much more than just torture him. The maniac and his crazy girlfriend had completely shattered him, stolen his confidence. Even after ten months, the green-haired and white-faced man _still_ haunted Tim in his dreams.

Not caring that some of Bruce's League teammates were in the teleportation room, Tim made a beeline straight toward his father. Bruce wrapped his strong arms around him and Tim _immediately_ felt safe.

"Alright, nothin' to see here, folks," Flash called out, herding two women, Fire and Ice if Tim remembered correctly, and a gaping Booster Gold out. Batman gave a minute nod which the speedster returned. It was just the three of them now. Plus Alfred, who was waiting patiently in the corner with a sleeping Nathan.

Tim pulled out of Bruce's embrace, but kept a firm grip on the older man's arm as he watched Dick carefully. _Please don't start shouting. I don't think I can handle that._

To his surprise, Richard stopped an arm's length in front of the two of them, scuffing his feet with his head down like a kid who'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Look, Bruce," Dick began uncertainly. "I... I'm _sorry_. I was being a complete _idiot_. Barb was right, what happened to Tim wasn't your fault. I was wrong to-"

Bruce pushed back his cowl and cut Dick off by grabbing the man in a crushing hug, then pulled away, his gaze meeting the younger man's, "Forget it, Dick. As far as I'm concerned, it never happened. What's important right now is Barbara."

"Is she gonna be okay?" Tim asked fearfully.

Bruce sighed, running his hand through his black hair. It was then that Tim noticed the few barely noticeable gray strands. _I wonder where those came from? Bruce didn't have them before..._

"She's still alive, but that's all I know. Clark and Diana are with Jim in the waiting room."

"The Commissioner's _here_?" If anything, Dick sounded just a little scared.

"He doesn't know, Dick. But I suggest telling him as soon as possible." _Doesn't know what? And what does Dick need to tell Commissioner Gordon?_

* * *

Batman sighed in relief as he watched Dick lead Tim towards the hospital wing of the Watchtower. Nightwing had been up here only once before, when Flash had brought him up after a stake-out gone wrong. Dick had taken a nasty blow to the head, but, thankfully, had recovered quickly. How Bruce wished that the same could be said for Barb.

Nathan whimpered in Alfred's arms and Bruce quickly realized how foolish he'd been to have his _entire_ family come up the Watchtower. Thankfully, aside from J'onn and the medical staff working on Barbara, the three that Flash had shooed from the room were the only ones currently aboard the satellite. Most of the staff had gone home for the night and most of the League was down in Metro Tower. The Watchtower itself was scheduled to be decommissioned in just a few more months.

Alfred walked softly toward him, "I believe that Master Nathan wants you, sir."

Bruce took the baby from his butler's arms, cradling his son close to his chest, "Shh, Nathan. I've got you," he murmured as he sat in the monitor chair. The baby instantly calmed, but Bruce was far from calm himself. Inside, he was a tumult of emotions. Most people wouldn't even notice due to his careful control. But Alfred wasn't most people. And Bruce was well aware of the fact that it was impossible to hide anything from the man who'd known him from birth.

Said butler moved closer, placing a reassuring hand on his master's shoulder, "Master Bruce? What happened down there? Master Wallace said that Miss Barbara pushed you and Miss Diana out of the way."

Batman didn't answer right away, watching Nathan as his son's breathing deepened and the baby went back to sleep. Alfred waited patiently.

"I was distracted, Alfred. I hadn't taken Diana dancing in so long and I... I wasn't paying attention."

"I doubt that," was the curt reply. Bruce turned hard blue eyes up at the older man, but Alfred ignored the glare. "You're only human, sir. It's not _possible_ for you to notice every little detail."

"Alfred, I've spent _years_ training for just that. I _should_ be able to-"

"Bull." The very fact that _Alfred_ had said the word was enough to shock Bruce into silence. Alfred never said anything so, as he put it, 'improper'. Alfred continued, taking advantage of his master's silence, "You're blaming yourself for something that was not your fault. _Again_. I don't blame you, and I'm absolutely certain that Miss Barbara and the Commissioner don't blame you either. The blame lies with the man whose hand squeezed the trigger."

Bruce shook his head, but Alfred was right._ As usual._ "Deadshot. I'm almost certain that it was Deadshot."

"The mercenary? But why would he target you? Could this be the C of O's doing?"

Batman slipped his cowl back on and shook his head, "No, Alfred. Sniping just doesn't fit the C of O's style. In fact, from the evidence, whoever he or she is wasn't pleased with the mercenary's actions."

"And why do you believe that, sir?"

"Because Huntress found what she, Black Canary, and Green Arrow believe to be Deadshot's body on the roof of the office building across the street from March's penthouse."

"Believe to be?"

"The head's gone. Just like the Davidson murders, Alfred. That tells me that the C of O is watching my every move. And that they don't want me dead. Yet." He tightened his grip protectively on the baby in his arms. "So, for the moment, the important question is... Who hired Deadshot to assassinate Bruce Wayne?"

* * *

_Please R&R._


	10. Dreams

_Justice League and the Court of Owls does not belong to me._

_Due to the fact that my life just got much busier, I'll only be able to update every Friday._

_Big thanks to mbembet and Tigress2929 for reviewing!  
_

* * *

Wally sat in his quarters aboard the Watchtower, talking with Linda over the special communicators that Bruce had made for the two of them _years_ ago. After sending Ice, Fire (who'd been watching carefully the entire time) and Booster to Metro Tower, he'd come up here. Yeah Barb was one of his closest friends, but he wasn't her family like the BatClan was. He figured that the Batfamily would probably need their space. Especially Bruce and Dick. Those two had a lot of catching up to do. Superman seemed to be sticking around for Diana and Bruce's sake. The three of them, the Big Three, were much closer than the rest of the League.

"Wally?"

_Can't keep zoning out like that. Linda doesn't need to worry about me any more than she already is._ "I'm here, babe."

"You _sure_ that you don't want me to come up?" And there it was. The telltale worry that made her voice rise slightly in pitch.

"Nah. I'm not staying up here much longer, don't want to be in the way."

"Barbara's your _friend_, Wallace," his fianceé chided gently. "I'm sure that she would _want_ you there. Just like the others are probably wanting you to be there too. Why else would Bruce ask you to come up with the rest of his family?"

Light bulb moment. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense. It's just weird, Lin."

"What's weird, hon?"

"Bats. When I first met the guy, he was... Well, he wasn't exactly cold, but-"

"I think 'distant' is the word you're looking for, babe."

He nodded his head, even though Linda couldn't see him doing so, "Yeah, that about describes how he was. He was focused on the mission, always the mission, but you could just barely see that he really cared. Now, it's like the dam's burst. I've never seen Bruce so... _open_."

"He trusts you, Wally. That, and he's not the same man you met all those years ago. Just like you aren't the same man that walked into me three years ago. People change, babe. Usually for the better."

"I _am_ in that 'usually', right?"

When she answered there was just a hint of amusement in her voice, "I'm not sure. I'll have to get back with you on that one..."

"Hardy har har."

Linda didn't answer, she was laughing so hard that she'd started snorting. It was something that embarrassed her to death no matter how many times Wally had told her that he loved to hear it.

And it _always_ made him laugh. _Now I know why Bruce had me call her. Linda's to me like Diana's to him. Lin's the only person who can make me feel better when there's so much going wrong._

_I don't know what we'll do if Babs doesn't live through this... All I know is that Linda will be always be there for me._

* * *

Two months later and Cho was again watching the news. She knew that she was becoming addicted to it, but she couldn't help it. She needed to know what was going on, as the Court wouldn't tell her anything.

The night after the gala, her father had left a letter telling her how proud he was of her for sticking with her training and staying calm after the murder attempt on Wayne. Of course, she hadn't found the small piece of paper until about a month ago as it had been hidden under her mattress. She'd kept the note tucked into the waistband of her pants since, hidden from view. If the Parliament found out about it's existence the repercussions would be... _I don't even want to think about it._

But the letter had shown her something. Her father didn't care for the power the Court gave him. That he really _did_ care about her. That he was just as much of a puppet of the Court as she was.

But Cho couldn't see how that would change their situation. The two of them were stuck. For life, as far as she could tell.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Gleeson's voice on the T.V., "It has been two months since the attempted murder of Bruce Wayne and the actual murder of Floyd Lawton, the criminal mercenary known as Deadshot. Police Commissioner Gordon issued a statement today that the evidence from the Lawton case suspiciously matches the evidence from the Davidson murders of four months ago."

_Of course it would. Lawton's murder was the Court's way of 'putting the word out'. Wayne is off limits to everyone else but them._ Them? Until recently, Cho had referred to the Court as 'us'. She been raised and trained that way. She hadn't begun to think of herself as separate from the Court of Owls until after she'd saved Batman from the Ventriloquist. And she didn't know why.

_I've got to clear my head._

She was well aware that the Talon was right outside her door, roaming the hallway. Keeping an eye on the apprentices. The younger the apprentice, the more they were watched by the Court. The older they were, the more _trusted_ they were. And Cho apparently had recently reached the in-between stage, meaning that she was allowed freedom to roam on some days but still on lockdown on others. The key was to figuring out which days were which. The Talon didn't tell her. _It's a test._

Cho clenched her fists in her lap. _I don't care if tonight might be the wrong night. I have _got_ to get out of here._ In one fluid movement she stood and began preparing herself. She wound her long curls into a tight bun that hid her red highlights. The girl snorted in amusement as she remembered the young woman at the gala who'd asked her which beauty salon she went to. She'd politely responded that she colored her hair herself. Which wasn't actually true as her two-toned hair was simply a side-affect of being a Meta.

And it was just another example of how much of a freak she was. That was another reason why she was afraid to leave the Court. Yes the world was full of Metahumans who'd managed to find a place for themselves in this world. But there was no place for her besides with the Court. Cho was lost. And there was no place, no home, to be found for someone like her. One that she would actually belong in. Even though she longed for a home with every fiber of her being, she knew that it was time to face facts. Dreams were just that. Only dreams. They could never be real, not for someone like her...

* * *

Barbara clenched her fists in frustration. She'd tried yet again to stand, and again she'd fallen. Of course, she'd known that she'd never walk again, J'onn had told her so. _But I just can't accept that._ And she wasn't about to give up either.

_But how the heck am I gonna get back in that darn chair now?_ In her desperation, she'd managed to not only fall out of her wheelchair, but to knock the blasted thing over as well.

That, of course, would have to be when the Batmobile came roaring into the 'Cave. As soon as it was parked, Batman jumped out and raced to her, "Barb! What happened?"

"I'm fine, Bruce," she responded angrily as he righted her chair and gently set her back in it.

He pushed back his cowl, "You're sure?"

"Yeah." Barb found that she couldn't meet his eyes. She averted her gaze, feeling herself beginning to tear up as she clenched her fists again, "It's not fair!"

"I know, I'm sorry-"

"If you say that it's your fault _one_ more time, Bruce, I swear I'll knock the living daylights out of you," she mumbled, just loud enough for him to hear. He chuckled and Barbara found that she could meet his eyes this time, "What are you doing back so early?"

"The city's quiet again," Bruce began as he headed to the computer. Barbara maneuvered her chair after him. For the first month since she'd been shot, she'd been restricted to her bed. Bruce had had the chair made specially for her, and although Dick had told her that it was one sweet ride, she couldn't help but resent the thing.

"That's unnatural. Do you think that this C of O murderer is behind it?"

Batman slumped into the chair, rubbing his forehead with one hand, "Partly."

"Partly?" Both of them turned to see Diana walking up to them, little Nathan in her arms. The four month old was being unusually quiet, but it probably had to do with that fact that his brown eyes were busy looking around. He was at that age where he was just beginning to really pay attention to his surroundings. _It's hard to believe how big he's gotten._ The youngest Wayne was already rolling over on his own and Barb knew it wouldn't be long before the little guy said 'Dada' for the first time.

Diana offered the slumbering baby to Barb and she gladly took him. "Hey there, Nate," she cooed, ignoring the glare that Bruce sent her way. From day one, he hadn't been too keen on the nickname.

Little Nathan gave her one of his adorable little smiles that made Bruce chuckle and forget his irritation. _I still can't believe how much being around Diana and Nathan has changed him._

Diana settled into the chair next to her husband's, "Bruce. What do you mean by 'partly'?"

Bruce sobered, the skin around his eyes tightening. Barb couldn't help but notice the fine wrinkles that were starting to show around his eyes. Since Barb had been shot, Tim had taken a turn for the worse. He was having nightmares nightly now, and even zoning out during the day. It had gotten so bad that Bruce and Diana had taken a leave of absence from the League so that they could be close by should Tim need them. _And here I am feeling sorry for myself because I can't walk. Tim's been traumatized, and my injury only made it worse for him..._

_At least Dick and I are finally dating again._ That was the only good thing about the entire situation. _It'll be a while before I'm ready to be engaged again, though._

Bruce sighed, clearing his throat, "I'm beginning to think that this 'C of O' is more than just one person."

"Why do you think that?" Barb questioned, wincing as Nathan grabbed a lock of her hair in his tiny fist and yanked it as hard as he could. Trying as best he could to get the red strands into his little mouth.

* * *

Bruce reached over and gently loosened his son's grip, "No no, Nathan. Don't grab Barb's hair, that hurts her," he admonished gently. He met Barbara's gaze before meeting his wife's, "Each step that this assassin has taken are too well planned to be orchastrated by just one person."

"Except for Lawton's murder," Barb piped up, turning Nathan away from her and letting the baby gum her thumb in an effort to distract him from her hair.

He shook his head, "It may have seemed as spur of the moment, but it wasn't. It happened _way_ too quickly to be coincidence or chance. The assassin was already there and prepared for something like that to happen. Why else would he just happen to have a sack with him, like Huntress saw? And like Question saw after the Davidsons were murdered." He paused, taking a breath, "Some kind of criminal organization is keeping tabs on me. The only good thing is that, whoever they are, they haven't figured out that I'm Batman."

"Because the threats have only been aimed at Bruce Wayne. You haven't been threatened on patrol yet," Diana finished for him.

"Not that I would know," Barb finished sulkily. Bruce sighed. Barb wasn't Jai. She wasn't one to see the bright side in things like this. And it was starting to affect her. Badly. _I'll have to keep a closer eye on her._ As if he didn't have enough things to worry about. But Barb was family. And he'd do anything to protect his family.

Barb looked up at him, "Wait a minute. You said that the city was too quiet, and the murderer was only 'partly' responsible. It sounds to me like this C of O organization has a lot of control over Gotham's criminals. Too much."

That was why Barbara had been one of his favorite students. She was much quicker on the uptake than his oldest sons. She'd even seemed to intuit things _before_ they happened, on more than one occasion. "_Exactly_ what I was thinking."

Diana jerked her head, listening intently. _Tim. He's having another nightmare..._ Leaving Nathan in Barb's capable hands, he ran as fast as he could to his middle son. Diana close on his heels.

* * *

_Please R&R._


	11. Linked

_Justice League does not belong to me. Just Cho and Company._

_Sorry for the late update. My muse left me and didn't return until late last night.  
_

_Big thanks to mbembet, Tigress2929, and Cajun Strong Man 2 for reviewing!  
_

_And a special thanks to Cajun Strong Man 2!  
_

* * *

Yes Diana could have used her superspeed and reached Tim before her husband, but she didn't. The reason behind that was Tim calmed down much faster if Bruce was the first one to comfort him. If anyone else tried, he would just fight them. And even though he was every much a mortal as Bruce was, and nowhere near as strong as Diana herself, Tim could still hit pretty hard. She'd once had a black eye for a few hours, thanks to him. Of course, once Tim had realized what he'd done, he'd been horrified. It had taken her _days_ to convince him that she wasn't angry with him.

So the Amazon stood in the doorway as Bruce reassured his middle son that he was safe. Once she was certain that Tim was fully awake, _then_ she came into the room to offer her comfort as well.

Tim was shivering, but he wasn't hysterical like he'd been after past nightmares. _I wonder why..._ Diana sat beside him, exchanging a glance with Bruce. He shrugged his shoulders and she wrapped an arm around Tim. "Do you want to talk about it this time, Tim?" she asked him tentatively.

Timothy inhaled sharply, but nodded, "Yeah. This one was _weird_."

"What do you mean by that?" Bruce questioned, a concerned expression on his face.

"'Cause it wasn't about..." he trailed off, wincing. Diana knew very well what Tim was referring to. Tim's most recent nightmare hadn't been about the Joker and Harley torturing him.

Bruce raised his eyebrows, "What was it about?"

"Well, it was kind of about some murder," Tim paused and Diana and Bruce waited patiently. Tim took another quick breath, "A murder that happened about eleven years ago."

"Eleven years ago? Was it a case you'd looked up?" Diana asked. Bruce remained quiet, his face thoughtful.

Tim shook his head, "I'd thought so, at first. But I didn't recognize the people in my dream."

"Do you know who they were?" Bruce's face was still thoughtful and Diana could literally see the gears in his mind turning. _He's gone into Detective mode again._

Tim shook his head, "No."

"Can you describe them?"

Tim winced, "Yeah." He cleared his throat, "There was a mother and a daughter. Both Asian, I'd say Chinese." He took another steadying breath, "There was a cloaked man. He came in with a sword and the woman stepped in front of the girl. He..." Tim went quiet, his face paling.

"What did he do, Tim?" Bruce asked seriously. Diana wanted to tell her husband to leave it alone. The eighteen-year-old looked horrified and the princess didn't want to traumatize him further by making him think of such terrible details. But there was no telling Bruce to stop when he got like this.

"He ran the woman through with a sword," Tim whispered, hugging himself. "The girl... Bruce, the girl looked like she was just five years old. And she saw the _entire_ thing..."

* * *

After Tim went back to sleep, Bruce was again down in the 'Cave with his cowl pushed back, typing in the information Tim had given him. So far, there wasn't any record of a murder and kidnapping happening to a Chinese family in Gotham. He'd expanded his search, being careful to keep it within the time frame that Tim had told him.

"Do you really think that what Tim dreamed about was real, Bruce?" Diana walked toward him, Nathan again cradled in her arms. But this time, the four month old was out like a light. Alfred had already taken Barbara back to her apartment and Dick would be in soon from Bludhaven. After Barb's injury, Richard had gone to great lengths to improve the broken relationship between himself and Bruce. _At least something's going right._

He turned his gaze to his wife, whose expression was still skeptical. "Yes, Princess."

"How do you know? For all we know, he could have seen it in a movie."

"That's possible, but I don't think so." Diana sat beside him in her chair and he held his arms out for their son. She handed him over and Bruce cradled baby Nathan to his chest. _I still can't believe how fast he's growing._ "Remember how Tim said that he got the date from the calendar hanging in the Asian woman's kitchen?"

She nodded, but didn't speak. Bruce continued, "In a _real_ dream, it's _impossible_ to read. You dream with only _half_ of your brain, the half that's deals with creativity. The part of your brain that deals with comprehension is dormant while you sleep, which means that any letters and numbers you see in your dream wouldn't make sense. But Tim clearly remembers the month and year displayed on that calendar."

"What are you saying, Bruce?"

"I'm saying that it wasn't a dream at all, Princess."

Diana's eyes widened, "Are you saying that a telepath is reaching out to him? Like J'onn did with Clark?"

"That's _exactly_ what I think."

The computer beeped, indicating that he'd gotten a hit. Bruce turned his gaze back to the computer so that he could read the file. _Chicago, _exactly _eleven years ago. Asian mother and daughter... Mother died from single stab wound, five year old daughter disappeared without a trace and hasn't been seen since..._

He froze when he read the names. _Mulan and Cho March._ March. "Di-"

"I see it, Bruce." Both were quiet as they read the file in depth. "Mr. March was married?" she finally questioned, "I didn't know that."

"Neither did I," Bruce said, thinking. _Cho and Mulan. Not exactly original names. Hmmm... _"I don't think those were their real names. The file says that Mulan was divorced." He turned to look at Diana, "She had her and her daughter's first names changed."

"But what for?"

"That's the question. I think it's time that Batman took a closer look at Lincoln March."

"And I'll call J'onn. We need to know what he thinks about this telepathic link."

Bruce nodded, about to rise from his seat and hand Nathan back to Diana when another link popped onto the screen from the computer's search. A picture file. He clicked it.

The first picture was a portrait of Mulan and her daughter, Cho. The little girl had red highlights in her hair. _Just like March's assistant, Isabelle._ He pulled up a picture of the teenaged girl and compared the two.

Diana gasped in surprise at the pictures, "That's _definitely_ Isabelle."

Just to make sure, Bruce ran a facial construction recognition program. _Diana's right. It's an _exact_ match._

"I think it's _definitely_ past time that I made a house call." He gave his son to Diana and made his way to the Batmobile, only to be stopped by his wife's hand on his arm.

"Be careful out there, Bruce," she said softly, worry in her eyes as she held Nathan securely with her left arm. She reached her right hand up and gently pulled his cowl back over his face.

"I will be." He kissed their son's forehead before giving her a soft kiss, "Love you, Princess."

"Love you too."

* * *

Cho ran the rooftops, grateful to be free. _Even if it is just for a few hours. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to be content with that. It's better than nothing, I suppose._

But that wasn't the most important thing on her mind. The Talon had cornered her on the apprentices' floor and she'd been so sure that he'd kill her that she'd momentarily lost control of her telepathy. In the twenty minutes that it had taken to escape his grasp and realize that it was just a test, she'd realized that her mind had linked with someone else's.

She mentally recoiled from the memory of a white-faced and green-haired man leering over a teenaged boy around her age. She'd immediately known that the man was the Joker as she'd seen his pictures on the news a lot, even though he was believed to be deceased. The boy was another matter. He was wearing a domino mask. And, even though the image had been fuzzy, she'd assumed the boy was asleep when her mind connected to his, she could have sworn that she'd seen an 'R' on his chest. _Robin? Could I have possibly connected to Robin?_

What really worried her was the fact that she wasn't sure if she'd shown him into her mind or not. Only once had this happened before, when her mother had been killed by the Talon. That first time she'd linked directly with her father, had seen that _he_ had sent the Talon after her. And, judging from the first letter he'd left for her, which she'd immediately ripped up and thrown away because she hadn't believed his sincerity, he'd seen what she'd seen. Felt what she'd felt. And she hadn't even been aware that she'd opened her mind to him like that. His letter had told her that he hadn't meant for her mother to get killed, that the Parliament was behind it. She'd only begun to believe that just recently. But that was the past and not as important as the situation that she'd unwittingly put herself in.

_If I _did_ open my mind to Robin, there's no telling what I accidentally showed him._ Cho shivered. _I'm _not_, definitely not, telling _anyone_ about this. 'Cause if the Court of Owls finds out, Robin and Batman will both become the their newest targets. And I have no doubt in my mind that they'll send _me_ to do that dirty work. And I will _not_ give the Court _any_ reason to make me become a murderer._

That was when the bead comlink in her ear beeped. A soft alarm sounded over the heavily encrypted channel and Cho froze. That alarm... Someone was breaking into her father's penthouse.

* * *

Wally lounged on the couch, Linda curled up against him with his arm around her as they watched some romantic comedy. Even though he'd promised himself three years ago, shortly after meeting Artie, Iris, and Jai, that he'd never watch a romance. _I guess they're not _all_ bad, though. That, and I probably was watching them with the wrong company._ Beatrice, which was Fire's real name, had been real pushy about watching romance movies with him. So much so that he'd begun to dread even the mention of movies when they'd been 'talking' all those years ago. _What did I ever see in her?_

Linda, on the other hand... _She's hardly ever pushy._ In fact, it had been Wally who'd suggested this particular chic flick. Barb had made an offhand comment that she and Lin had gone to see it and loved it, so he figured that his fianceé would enjoy watching it with him.

Linda laid her head on his chest, snuggling closer. _Definitely a good call._

"Wally."

"Hmm?"

"Let me guess, you didn't hear me?" she asked, a hint of amusement on her face.

"Sorry, babe. I was too busy thinking about how lucky I am to have you."

She chuckled, "Charmer. I _said_ that it's almost hard to believe that we'll be married in just two weeks. The time's sure flown by."

"Flown? Are you kidding, baby?" She sat up and gave him an incredulous look, her eyes tightening with hurt. "Wait a sec, Lin. I didn't mean that I don't like spending time with you." Wally brushed his fingers across her cheek, "I _meant_ that I still can't believe that I have to _wait_ two whole _weeks_ before I can _really_ call you mine."

She rolled her dark eyes, "You should have said so from the beginning, hon. Don't scare me like that," she finished firmly.

"Scare you?" He gave her a confused look, "Why would you be scared? Linda Jasmine Park, you _know_ that I love you."

"And I love you, Wallace Rudolph West."

* * *

Barbara was _supposed_ to be back at her downtown apartment. And, as far as her father and the rest of the BatClan knew, she was. Instead, she was in the old abandoned clocktower in Gotham City's East End, working on the computer system she'd begun cobbling together a week ago.

_I may be a cripple, but everyone else is wrong. I _can_ still do my part to help Gotham. The systems down in the 'Cave just aren't cutting it anymore. I mean, the Metro Tower's systems are just as advanced. We need something better here, especially if Bruce wants to keep one step ahead of the rest of the superhero world._

"Thought I'd find you here," came a woman's voice from the clocktower's shattered glass window. Barb had heard her coming a mile away. _But she is getting quieter, I'll give her that._

"What are you doing here, Helena? I thought you had a date with Q," the former Batgirl questioned, not even looking up from the diagnostics that she was running.

There was the sound of a cape snapping and Barb could practically feel Huntress looking over her shoulder, "Vic and I had to cut our date early, he was called away on League business. Since I was already on your side of town, I dropped by your apartment. You weren't there."

"And the first place you looked was here. I'm beginning to regret even _mentioning_ this clocktower to you and Dinah."

Helena moved to Barbara's side, leaning her backside against the desk and folding her gloved arms across her chest, "Speaking of us, Dinah and I were thinking..."

_I don't like the sound of this._ Barb kept her mouth shut, hoping that her lack of response would discourage Huntress from finishing that thought. _Who am I kidding? Helena Bertinelli is the most stubborn woman on the face of the Earth._

And she was proved right as Helena continued, "Since the big bad Bat has started allowing us to patrol in Gotham, Canary and I were thinking about the three of us working together more often. You know, start a team?"

"Like a mini Justice League," Barbara chuckled, amused. _Is _that_ what she's thinking of? It will never work._

Huntress rolled her eyes, "We were actually thinking about calling ourselves the 'Birds of Prey'. Ollie may be a spoiled rich brat, but he's good at coming up with names."

* * *

_Please R&R._


	12. Interfere

_Justice League and Court of Owls does not belong to me. Just Cho & Company._

_Short chapter, but an important one...  
_

_Big thanks to mbembet, Cajun Strong Man 2, The Dark Knight, and Tigress2929 for reviewing!  
_

* * *

Cho was expecting the eerie hissing voice of the Talon speaking her name in her earpiece, not the sophisticated bass of a certain member of the Court's highest Parliament.

Most of the apprentices were under the assumption that the highest Parliament were the leaders of the Court, but Cho knew better. As they were the only members of the Court who actually looked human, aside from Cho and the other apprentices, they were nothing more than a front. The more owlish members of the Court were the ones who ruled. _The highest Parliament may live a life of luxury, but their plush lifestyle isn't guaranteed. One wrong step, and they're dead, just like I'll be if I screw this up..._ "Yes sir." _No doubt the Talon is listening in on this exchange. After I'm done talking with this guy, I'll have to check in with _him_ before I make a move._

"Apprentice, you are to go to March's penthouse and find out who is foolish enough to break into his home. Watch, but do not interfere."

_What? Don't interfere? Is he really suggesting that I let the intruder have free rein in one of the Court's own buildings?_

Apparently, she was taking too long to answer. The Court member's voice became irritated, "These orders come from the Talon himself. You dare not disobey, Apprentice Cho." A small hiss, unheard by the Parliament member, came over the link, the kind that the Talon would usually give if she didn't follow orders right away.

"I'm on my way, sir." _Just when I thought that I'd have a night to myself..._

* * *

"You're late," Bruce stated, not even bothering to turn around.

"Sorry, I had some loose ends to tie up back in Bludhaven," Dick replied carefully. He didn't sound like his usual cocky self and Bruce actually glanced over his shoulder to make sure that it was Nightwing behind him. _Right costume, right posture. Definitely not Clayface or some other shapeshifter._

He nodded, but didn't answer, too busy hacking into March's files. _If only Barb was here, she'd have this figured out in no time._

"What'cha looking for, Batman?"

"Did you know that March was divorced?"

"Uhh... no?"

"Well, apparently no else knew either."

Dick walked up behind Bruce, peering over the older man's shoulder to get a better look, "Isn't that the kind of information that you're not supposed to hide from your potential voters?"

"Exactly. That, and Wonder Woman and I believe we've found his daughter. We think she's a telepath."

Batman could practically feel Nightwing's confusion, "How the heck did you figure that one out?"

"Because she's established some kind of telepathic link with Robin."

"Like J'onn did with the Boy Scout."

Bruce shook his head, "Not exactly. J'onn showed Superman where he was and explained what had happened to him that had landed him in the Invaders' custody. Cho March only showed Robin a single memory from her past."

"Cho? Sounds like a Chinese name to me." Bruce glanced over his shoulder, just in time to catch Nightwing's eyes widening. "You think March's assistant is actually his daughter, don't you?"

Batman turned his attention back to the file he finally managed to crack, "Isabelle Grandview's paper's are good enough to pass a quick examination, but they're definitely counterfeit. The thing that really worries me are completely different papers, ones that were issued _before_ Mrs. March's murder."

Dick took a step back in shock, "Murder? What happened?"

"A cloaked man with a sword. Robin's description fits the ones that Huntress and Question gave of our resident 'C of O'.

"You think that the Marches are involved whatever this is, don't you."

Bruce shook his head, "I don't think, I _know_. And I'm also sure that Cho, or Isabelle or whatever she's calling herself, is an unwilling participant." Nightwing crossed his arms and didn't respond, so he continued, "Before Mrs. March changed her and Isabelle's first names, she had a restraining order issued against her husband. He wasn't supposed to come within five hundred feet of either of them, wasn't even supposed to call them. And when Mrs. March was murdered, Cho just disappeared."

"And then she shows up at her father's penthouse, pretending to be his secretary," Nightwing concluded, hands clenching into fists. "You really think she doesn't have a choice? I mean, the girl's about sixteen, right? Definitely old enough to make her own choices."

"Dick," Bruce said softly, "Cho's mother was murdered and she was kidnapped when she was only five. I think March and the C of O have been training her for something. Something big."

"Okay, I can see how the Marches are involved. But I still don't get how you've come to the conclusion that Isabelle is a victim here. If she really is so unwilling, wouldn't she have left?"

"Not if she feels threatened."

"And how, exactly, did you come to that conclusion?"

"A couple of months ago, I was fighting Ventriloquist and he-"

"Had you in his sights." Dick shrugged at the look Batman gave him, "Barb told me about it. She also said that a telepath saved you and then just ran..." He trailed off, eyes going wide.

"Exactly."

* * *

After putting Nathan back in his crib, Diana decided to check in on Tim. She entered the young man's room just as J'onn's eyes changed from bright yellow back to their normal dull red.

Tim shook his head in an effort to clear it, looking more than a little uncomfortable. The Amazon sat beside him on the bed and the eighteen year old immediately latched onto her. _J'onn must have brought up some of the bad memories..._

Speaking of the Martian, he didn't seemed too concerned. Merely thoughtful.

"What did you find, J'onn?"

"Only a little more than you already know, Diana. The connection's no longer there, but I was able to find enough evidence of it to establish that it had been a two way connection. Unconsciously done."

"Unconsciously?"

Tim pulled away from her, "It means that Cho didn't know that she was showing me one of her memories."

"And she probably didn't know what she was doing until she saw one of Tim's."

Diana straightened, eyes widening, "She knows?!"

J'onn was already shaking his head, "The memory she saw was from..." The Martian trailed off, meeting Tim's eyes.

The boy sighed, rubbing his temples, "From the first night after Joker kidnapped me. _Before_ he took my mask off and before I told him..." He cut off, burying his face in his hands.

"It wasn't your fault, Tim," Diana soothed, rubbing the young man's back gently.

"I just want to be left alone, okay?"

* * *

Cho couldn't believe what she was hearing. _How the heck did they figure all of that out?!_ Unknown to either of the two men, she was situated in the hallway, right outside the door to the study. Batman and Nightwing were in discussion about her, and she couldn't help but be unsettled by how much the Dark Knight knew about her. _No one's supposed to have access to all of that information._ But the Batman apparently did.

_They know too much now._ At this point, the Talon would want her to interfere. And she knew what that would entail... _He'll have me kill them. And I can't do that. I _won't_._

So caught up was she in her mental debate that she almost jumped when the Talon's voice hissed in her ear. Cho pressed her hand over the earpiece to hear better. "Let them take you, Apprentice," the assassin hissed again.

_What?!_

* * *

_Please R&R._


	13. Cornered

_Justice League and the Court of Owls do not belong to me. Just Cho & Company._

_Sorry for the shortness. Hope ya'll like it!_

_Big thanks to Cajun Strong Man 2, Tigress2929, and mbembet for reviewing!  
_

* * *

"Birds of Prey? Can you hear yourself right now, Helena? Don't you think that sounds just a _little_ bit corny?"

"Your mentor is _Bat_man and your main mode of transportation is the _Bat_mobile, _Bat_girl. Compared to that, I don't think calling ourselves Birds is corny at all. I mean, my and Dinah's names already match it."

Barbara just glared at her friend, "First of all, in case you haven't noticed, my 'main mode of transportation' isn't the Batmobile anymore." She leaned back in her motorized wheelchair, folding her hands across her chest, "_Secondly_, do you _really_ think that Batman will go for us operating in Gotham? In case you've forgotten, this is _his_ city."

"It may be his city, but we live here too, ya know. _And_, he's already let us operate here for _months_."

Barb rolled her eyes, still not believing that she was even having this conversation, "As _single_ entities, yes. But I don't think he'll approve of a _team_. He still can't tolerate most of the League as it is. He won't like even the _idea_ of the 'Birds of Prey'."

"Which is why we're not going to ask him," Huntress cut back, a triumphant smile on her face.

Barbara felt her jaw drop in disbelief. She closed it with a snap before turning away from the heroine, turning her focus back on the computer she was working on, "You do that, and you'll be digging your own grave. I guarantee that."

"Barbara, just hear me out."

"I'm not interested in attending my own funeral. _No_." Barb kept her eyes on the machine in front of her, tensing as Bertinelli scooted a little closer.

"Batman may be the big man of Gotham, but he has no say in this. He may have operated in Gotham longer, but Gotham City's just as much _our_ city as it is _his_." Helena huffed as Barbara still refused to acknowledge her.

Barb sighed heavily, "_Fine_." She turned back to Bertinelli, who gave her an even bigger triumphant smile than the last. Gordon held up her hand, "One _one_ condition."

"And that is?"

"We need to keep our movements quiet. That means, we work behind the scenes. No broadcasting that we're out there." Barb looked back at the monitor, just as it came back to life, "Bruce won't like us showboating in his territory, and he's more likely to accept us if we keep our activities on the down-low."

"You've got yourself a deal, Oracle."

_Oracle? Why oh why do I let myself get talked into these things?_

* * *

For the _thousandth_ time that night, Flash was wondering why Batman had asked him to patrol in Gotham. He'd actually had to _send_ Linda home, and he couldn't help but wince again at the memory. She'd been so understanding, but he _knew_ that she was upset. _But of course, crazy Bats could care less _and _he thinks it's more important for me to run five hundred plus miles to his city._

Wally really wasn't that concerned about the mileage, though._ Bruce has got plenty of heroes here in Gotham who could help him out. But no. 'West, you're patrolling in Gotham tonight'. No 'please and thank you'. No, 'I'd really appreciate it if you did this for me.'_ Come to think of it, Flash would be shocked to stillness if he ever heard those words come from Wayne's mouth.

_What I still don't get is why am I even here? _He couldn't help but continue asking himself that particular question as he zipped into Gotham's East End.

That was when he noticed something out of the ordinary. _I thought that clocktower was supposed to be condemned..._ In fact, Babs had mentioned the place in passing just the week before. She'd said something to the effect that the city couldn't demolish the East End clocktower as it was considered part of historic Gotham. _It's still supposed to be condemned, that means that there shouldn't be lights shining out of the top floor windows. Better check it out..._

* * *

Just as Nigthwing opened his mouth to say something else, there was a muffled sound. Both men locked gazes before looking to one of the doors, the one that led into the main hallway of the penthouse. Bruce was certain that the sound had been from someone trying to be quiet and almost succeeding. Not the C of O, he was certain of that. _March wouldn't risk being associated with a masked murderer. So, it's probably some overconfident lackey._

Dick jerked his head toward another door, asking if he should sneak around and come up on their eavesdropper from behind. Batman shook his head. _We don't know for sure who's on the other side of that door. No telling what he'll do when he's surprised. _Bruce motioned for Dick to head for the main door. _Best to take whoever it is head on. Together._

Before either of them took a step towards the doorway, the intricate mahogany door swing inwards and a black-clothed girl lunged at them, katana flashing. Batman instantly recognized the mask from the night he'd last fought Ventriloquist. _Cho. March sent his own daughter to deal with us._ Apparently the politician was perfectly okay with his own child taking the fall. And that made Bruce _furious_.

He dodged as Cho took a swing at him. It was a simple matter of kicking her wrist to make her loose her grip on the weapon. _Her head's not in the fight._ Her familiarity with the sword meant that she should have kept a better grip on the weapon. Dick dodged a kick to his head and rolled, sharing a quick look with Bruce. Nightwing was thinking the same thing as he was. _She doesn't want to be here. But she's trying to put up a fight anyway._

He made to grab her as she lunged at Dick again, but she ducked out his reach, turning her body so that she was facing the both of them, her back to the window. Cho kept glancing between them, her dark eyes shifting to creamy silver.

* * *

Cho panicked. After receiving the Talon's orders, she'd reached out with her telepathy and immediately felt that Batman and Nightwing were on to her. What scared her was that she could read nothing on them, aside from the vague thoughts of their vigilante personas. When she tried to dig deeper, she met the mental equivalent of brick walls. _They've_ actually_ been trained to resist telepaths._ That had _never_ happened before. Unsettled, she'd decided to try to catch them off guard by hurling herself through the door.

The Talon had wanted her to get herself captured and Cho knew that meant he was hoping that she'd be able to get inside information on Gotham's resident Dark Knight. She knew that she had to put up a fight first. But, if she couldn't read their minds, how could she know if she was fooling them into thinking that her eventual surrender was actually genuine? _I didn't realize how much I relied on my telepathy._ Without it, she was at a disadvantage. A _big_ disadvantage.

_I'm a good fighter, but there's no _way_ that I'm enough of a match for the _both_ of them_, she thought as the two heroes cornered her. She'd switched her telepathy off as she'd fought them, knowing that it would distract her more than it would help her. But there was one thing that might help... And the very thought repulsed her. She didn't want to use her abilities against them like that. _They're only doing what's right. _I'm_ the one in the wrong here._

Nevertheless, she had no choice. Her eyes turned creamy silver as she prepared to use her mental interference, the same attack she'd used on the Ventriloquist, on the two men who were edging closer.

Cho didn't expect the smoke pellet to land at her feet. _Not a smoke pellet. Gas!_ But it was too fast-acting for her. She blacked out.

* * *

_Please R&R._


	14. Talking

_Justice League and Court of Owls do not belong to me. Just Cho & Company._

_Big thanks to mebembet, Cajun Strong Man 2, Riverat73, and Delta808th for reviewing!  
_

_Sorry for the long wait, I wanted to make sure that this chapter was as good as the rest. Now, I've never read any of the comics, so I don't know the entire storyline for the Court of Owls arc. I'm just patching together the stuff I thought was interesting and changing what I didn't like. For instance, Superman/Wonder Woman. Whoever decided to pair those two up is completely messed in the head. Diana belongs with Bruce and that's that... And now, to quote Joker, "Here. We. Go..."_

* * *

To say that Flash was surprised to find Barbara and Huntress chitchatting comfortably in the abandoned clocktower was an understatement. The East End may have been Huntress and Canary's main territory, but Barbara hardly ever came here. _Maybe a few times as Batgirl..._ He winced as he thought back to the day when that doctor had broke the news to them. That Babs would never walk again. _Just like Jai..._

The redhead turned her motorized chair around so that she could face him, "You're a long way away from Central, Flash. Is there something we can do for you?"

"Actually, I've gotta be going," Huntress cut in, ignoring the Batman-level glare that Barbara was directing at her. "I'm actually due for patrol with Canary in fifteen."

Babs rolled her eyes, muttering something that Wally didn't quite catch as Helena disappeared out the open window. The former Batgirl raised an eyebrow at him, "So, what are you doing in this neck of the woods, Wally? Need Bruce's help with your peanut gallery?"

Wally rolled his eyes at the words 'peanut gallery'. Dick and Babs' nickname for the villians from Central City. According to the BatClan, the villians from his city were much more mellow than the bad guys in Gotham. "Actually, Bats asked me to patrol Gotham for the night." She looked at him like he was joking. "Yeah, I know. Kinda shocked me too. And ruined my date with Linda," he ended with a regretful sigh.

Barb gave him a sympathetic look, "Sorry about that. Want me to talk to him about it?"

"Nah, I'll handle it. I'm not _as_ scared of him as I used to be." He chuckled as she smirked at him, but sobered quickly, "What I still don't get is, why me? I mean, there's several other Leaguers who are just as capable."

"But he doesn't trust them as much. Haven't you noticed he's been more inclined to work with you than the other Leaguers ever since you three came back from the Lords' dimension? He's worked with you and Diana almost as much as he worked with Supes back in the day."

"I guess..." It was silent for several minutes as Barbara turned her attention back to the computer that she'd obviously been working on just moments before. Something about that just didn't fit at all. "So, mind telling me why you're tinkering with that computer in an _abandoned_ clocktower when you could just as easily take it apart at the 'Cave?"

She shrugged, very obviously not meeting his eyes, "Bruce has been overbearing lately. I know that he's just worried about me, but he's practically looking over my shoulder _every_ time I turn around. I think he's blaming himself for what happened to me. And yeah, I feel guilty about avoiding him, but he's literally driving me crazy."

Wally _knew_ that she was deliberately not telling him the entire truth, but decided against pushing her. _She's still coming to grips with what happened to her._ So he just decided to follow her lead. For now. "I know what you mean. Did I ever tell you that Bats paired me up with _Fire_ for watch duty a few months ago?"

Barbara's head whipped around so fast that she almost rivaled his speed, "He did WHAT?!"

* * *

The night that both Bruce and Dick headed to March's apartment, Diana reclined on the sofa awaiting her husband's return. Little Nathan fast asleep, cradled to her chest. Her four month old son was finally sleeping through the night, but he would only do so when she _and_ Bruce put him to bed _together_. _Nathan's most certainly turning into a Daddy's boy._ In the rare instances when Bruce didn't get to kiss their little boy goodnight before patrol, the baby simply _refused_ to sleep peacefully. _He'll be awake and crying in about two more hours, so there's no sense in me going to bed myself until Bruce gets home._

The next thing she knew, there was the gentle pressure of her husband's lips against her temple. "Bruce?" she questioned groggily. "What time is it, Love?"

Bruce gently took their still sleeping son from her arms, cradling the baby against his shoulder, "Around one. Why are you two sleeping in the study? I thought you were going to go to bed early, Princess?"

"You're home early," she said softly. "And I'm down here because... Well, I hadn't actually decided to wait up on you." Diana yawned hugely, emphasizing her point, "Nathan's been missing you and he's been making sure that I'm well aware of it."

Bruce chuckled, pressing a gentle kiss to little Nathan's forehead before leaning down and brushing his lips against hers, "Go on to bed, Princess. I'll be there in a few minutes."

True to his word, Bruce slipped under the covers just five minutes later, wrapping an arm around Diana's waist and pulling her close to him.

She breathed a sigh of contentment, "Did you find what you were looking for at March's apartment?"

"Yes and no. We didn't find _any_ information on the C of O, but Dick and I did manage to capture Isabelle."

Diana pulled back, her keen eyes making out his expression in the darkness. _He's not happy about something._ "Did something go wrong?"

"No, everything went fine. With the exception that March used his own _daughter_ to do his dirty work for him." Diana could practically hear him grinding his teeth in anger. Hera, she was mad herself. _Children are blessings to be treasured, not tools to be used. Poor Isabelle._

* * *

Batman walked the down the hallway of the nearly empty Watchtower, making his way towards Isabelle's cell. He hated keeping the girl imprisoned, but it had been an entire month since he and Nightwing had captured her. And she still hadn't said a word.

That probably had to do with the fact that he adamantly _refused_ to use his interrogation techniques on her. _I don't care what Clark thinks. Isabelle's still a kid, she's scared._ That was the other reason why she hadn't said anything. Bruce had a feeling that she was trying to protect someone. _Quite possibly her father._ It wasn't the first time he'd seen a child brainwashed by her father. Talia al Ghul was the prime example of that. _Except, unlike Talia, Isabelle actually has seemed to develop a conscious on her own._ Which was why she'd interfered when the Ventriloquist had Batman in his sights.

He stopped in front of the glass of Isabelle's cell. Because of her obvious skill, he couldn't risk putting her in a barred cell. If anyone got too close, he had no doubt in his mind that she'd break out.

Isabelle lifted her dark eyes and met his gaze head-on. Her eyes stayed her natural brown, which meant that she'd given up on trying to use her telepathy. The dampener located just outside of her cell rendered her powers completely useless. It also prevented J'onn from reading her mind. They weren't going to get any information from her by following that route either.

Which was why he was so frustrated.

"Isabelle?"

She glared at him and he couldn't help but notice that her eyes were the _exact_ same shape and color as Nathan's. _Coincidence._ But over the past month, he'd begun to doubt it. The frosty looks that the younger March had given him over the past month were _identical_ to expressions he'd seen on Artemis Wayne's face. Come to think of it, her father, Lincoln, resembled Bruce Wayne almost too much. _But they can't be related to me. Mom and Dad didn't have any other family. Got to be coincidence._

"Don't call me that," Isabelle snapped, her voice more than hostile. _At least she's speaking now._

"You'd rather be called Cho, then. Why? If you really love your father, why aren't you going by the name _he_ gave you?" he questioned, his gruff tone bordering on threatening. _I've waited long enough. I need answers before March makes his next move. _The answer to that particular question was just as important as finding out who hired Lawton to kill Bruce Wayne, if it hadn't been the C of O. _Still no leads on that either._ Worry for his family only succeeded in fueling his temper. Every day that he didn't figure any of it out was another day that Diana and little Nathan were in danger.

The Asian girl's expression saddened and she lowered her gaze, staring blankly at the floor, "Because 'Cho' is all I have left of my Mom." His anger melted away as his heart ached for her, he knew the feeling all too well. As if sensing his pity for her, Cho looked up, her gaze defiant, "And you can love someone without trusting them."

"Then why follow your father's orders if you don't trust him?"

Cho hesitated, uncertainty crossing her features. She was afraid of what might happen if she told him too much. _But she can't be afraid for herself, she knows that she's out of the C of O's reach. She's got to be afraid for her father. Which means that I was wrong, Lincoln March isn't behind this..._

"Your father's just as much of a victim as you are, isn't he?"

Cho took a deep breath and her expression changed. She'd decided that she'd had enough of silence too. "Father's been in the Court's thralls _much_ longer than I have. Since he was born."

"Court?" _That explains the 'C' then. I was right about some criminal organization being behind this. But what does the 'O' stand for?_

"Don't tell me that you haven't heard of the Court of Owls, Batman. With as long as you've been operating in Gotham, I'd think you'd know everything about your city's history. Unless you really are an alien, like some people say..."

"The Court of Owls is just an old nursery rhyme, Cho. It was just a scary story thought up a long time ago to keep people in line."

Cho made a face, shivering, "That's the thing about scary stories, Batman. They're almost _always_ based on _fact_. Trust me, I wouldn't be here if the Court didn't exist. My mom would still be alive, the Talon wouldn't have killed her. Or the Davidsons and Lawton."

"The Talon is the Court's assassin." Statement, not question. He knew the old nursery rhyme well enough to know _exactly_ what the Talon was.

She nodded, her expression fearful as she moved closer to the glass, "You can't let on that you know. That I... that I t-told you. They'll k-kill my father. Then they'll c-come for me and you. And you w-won't be able to stop them."

"The Talon's just one man-"

Cho lifted her right hand, placing her palm flat on the glass at her eye-level, "N-no." She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before she looked back up at him, "Not just one man."

"How many?"

"A h-hundred undead."

Masking his horror in the way that only he could, Bruce placed his gloved hand over Cho's as he gave her as reassuring a look as he could manage, given the circumstances, "I promise that nothing will happen to you or your father, Cho. I _swear_ it." _She can't stay here anymore. Diana would agree that she needs to be around people that actually care about her. Alfred, Dick, and Tim aren't going to be happy about me bringing her to the Manor with Nathan being there, but it_ _doesn't matter what they think. I can protect her better there than I can here._

_First things first, though. I need to brief the Founders. _There was no way he'd be able to outmatch an army of living dead on his own. He didn't like having the other Founders, aside from Diana and Flash, of course, in his city. But at times like this... _I'm going to need their help, whether I like it or not.._

* * *

_Please R&R._


End file.
